EXPERIMENTAL  FARM 

OF  THE 


l 

! 


SOUTH  CAROLINA  COLLEGE, 


FOR  THE  YEAR  1886. 


R.  H.  LOUGH  RIDGE,  Ph.  D„ 

J^ROFESSOR  OF  ^GRICULTURE,  ^GRICULTURAL  pHEMISTRY,  C. 


| 


COLUMBIA,  S.  C. 

Charles  A.  Calvo,  Jr.,  State  Printer. 
1887. 


. -1 


4. 


learning  anb  |Tabor. 

LIBRARY 


University  of  Illinois. 


CLASS. 


BOOK. 


VOLUME. 


# 


Sr^&.x ?.• 

# . # 

^ Accession  No. ^ 

' 


' 

. 


REPORT  OF  THE  WORK 

8881 


OF  THE 


EXPERIMENTAL  FARM 


OF  THE 


SOUTH  CAROLINA  COLLEGE, 


FOR  THE  YEAR  1886. 


R.  H.  LOUGH  RIDGE,  Ph.  D„ 

Professor  of  Agriculture,  Agricultural  Chemistry,  &c. 


COLUMBIA,  S.  C. 

Charles  A.  Calvo,  Jr.  , State  Printer. 
1887. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


Prof.  J.  M.  McBryde,  President  South  Carolina  College. 

Sir  : I have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  my  Report  on  the  result  of 
experiments  conducted  on  the  Farm  of  the  South  Carolina  College  during  the 
year  1886.  These  number  upwards  of  two  hundred  in  all,  and  are  largely 
repetitions  of  experiments  of  the  three  previous  years  inaugurated  by  your- 
self. The  work  has  been  done  under  the  supervision  of  the  Superintendent, 
Mr.  S.  I.  Gaillard,  and  the  results  attained  are  due  to  his  intelligent  and 
unremitting  care,  as  well  as  to  his  attention  to  the  minutest  detail  of  execu- 
tion. 

In  the  tabulation  of  the  results  of  the  experiments  and  in  the  work 
of  experimentation  itself,  such  as  examinations  of  cotton  fibre,  &c.,  and 
in  other  work  necessary  in  the  preparation  of  this  Report,  I am  indebted 
greatly  to  the  students  of  the  classes  under  my  charge  in  the  Agricultural 
course  of  the  College  ; and  to  the  class  in  Surveying,  under  Prof.  Sloan,  for 
services  in  the  field.  The  Report  as  arranged  embraces  the  following  sub- 
jects 

Description  of  the  Farm  and  analyses  of  its  soils. 

Tests  of  fertility  of  the  unfertilized  soil. 

Experiments  with  Cotton. — Comparison  tests  of  the  different  varieties  of 
cotton,  their  yields  in  seed  cotton,  seed  and  lint. 

Comparison  of  average  yields  of  seed  cotton  and  lint  during  cultivation  of 
several  years. 

Effects  of  drouth  upon  yields  of  seed  and  lint. 

Relative  values  of  large  and  small  seed  varieties. 

Field  tests  of  varieties — one  acre  each. 

Measurements  of  lengths  of  lint  of  each  variety. 

Fertilizer  Experiments. — Tests  with  various  fertilizers  upon  cotton,  em- 
bracing home-made  composts,  commercial  ammoniated  and  phosphatic  fertil- 
izers, mixtures  of  chemicals,  &c.  The  profit  or  loss  in  the  use  of  each  is  also 
given. 

Other  Field  Crops. — Embracing  grasses,  grain,  forage  crops,  tobacco,  &c. 

The  Report  closes  with  a statement  of  the  experimental  work  now  in  pro- 
gress for  1887. 


Very  respectfully, 


R.  H.  LQUGHRIDGE. 


Columbia,  S.  C.,  Nov.  15th,  1887. 


‘}99J,1S  MWnS 


•13JYH0  cno 


(-S0JOY  fii) 
•SIS3X  XIVUO  11YKS 


•199JL1S  ms 


REPORT 


The  experimental  work  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  of  the  College 
has  been  conducted  chiefly  on  its  lands  lying  adjacent  to  the  College  build- 
ings, comprising  in  all  about  ISf-  acres.  These  are  in  three  tracts.  On  the 
west  side  of  the  old  College  Chapel,  at  the  head  of  Sumter  street,  2 1-6 
acres,  devoted  to  cotton  ; on  the  east  side  of  the  same  building,  or  between 
Sumter  and  Bull  streets,  acres,  devoted  to  the  main  tests  with  varieties  of 
cotton,  with  different  fertilizers  and  manures,  and  with  small  grain  ; and,  lying 
still  eastward,  4 acres,  devoted  to  cotton  experiments.  In  addition  to  the 
above  13|  acres  there  is  a field  of  36  acres  on  Wheeler  hill  which  is  yearly  rented 
for  the  production  of  corn  and  oats  for  the  use  of  the  farm  stock,  tests  with 
various  fertilizers  being  made  at  the  same  time.  A portion  of  this  field  is 
devoted  to  cotton. 

In  addition,  there  are  about  two  acres  on  which  various  grasses  and  forage 
crops  are  grown  for  experiment,  a large  part  being  devoted  to  the  production 
of  hay. 

The  Farm,  therefore,  in  1886,  embraced  nearly  52  acres,  and  upon  it  there 
were  made  nearly  200  experiments  with  many  varieties  of  cotton,  fertilizers, 
grain,  grasses,  tobacco,  etc.,  and  has  required  the  constant  care  and  attention 
of  the  Superintendent  during  the  entire  season. 

The  chief  experimental  field,  viz.,  that  lying  between  Sumter  and  Bull 
streets  just  east  of  the  old  chapel — has  been  carefully  surveyed  and  laid  off 
into  three  lots,  the  central  lot  being  1£  acres  in  area.  The  other  two  were 
then  subdivided  into  plats  of  1-20  acre  each,  on  which  the  experiments  were 
conducted.  The  work  of  subdivision  was  done  by  the  students  of  the  Col- 
lege, under  direction  of  the  Professor  of  Mathematics. 

A diagram  of  each  lot,  showing  the  arrangement  and  numbering  of  each 
plat,  accompanies  this  Report. 

The  soil  is  of  that  dark  sandy  character  peculiar  to  the  region  in  which 
Columbia  is  situated.  It  is  here  only  about  six  inches  in  depth  and  is  under- 
laid by  a bright  red  subsoil,  more  clayey  than  the  soil,  but  still  very  sandy. 
The  natural  timber  growth  is  long  and  short  leaf  pines,  red  and  post  oaks. 

The  following  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  were  given  in  the  former  Report 
and  were  made  by  myself  in  the  College  laboratory.  The  method  of  analysis 
used  was  that  originally  adopted  by  Dr.  Robert  Peter,  of  the  Kentucky  Geologi- 
cal Survey,  in  the  very  large  number  of  soil  examinations  made  for  both  the 
Arkansas  and  Kentucky  Reports,  and  also  adopted  by  Professor  E.  W.  Hil- 
gard  in  similar  analyses  made  for  Mississippi  and  for  the  Reports  of  the  Tenth 
United  States  Census,  (Yols.  5 and  6,)  as  well  as  in  his  present  work  in  the 
California  College  of  Agriculture.  The  method  is  also  in  use  by  the  Alabama 
Geological  Survey. 


6 


No.  i.  ^oil  of  unfertilized  plats  in  the  field  devoted  to  the  tests  with  fertil- 
izers. It  has  been  under  cultivation  for  a number  of  years,  and  always  with 
cotton.  The  sample  is  a mixture  of  the  soils  of  several  of  these  plats  and 
Was  taken  to  a depth  of  six  inches,  where  the  red  subsoil  began. 

No.  2.  Red  subsoil  of  the  above  ; more  clayey  than  the  soil,  though  quite 
sandy.  Taken  from  six  to  twelve  inches. 

No.  3.  /Soil  from  that  portion  of  the  field  devoted  to  the  experiments  with 
cotton  varieties ; has  been  under  cultivation  a number  of  years  in  cotton  and 
has  been  fertilized  to  Some  extent.  Cotton  seed  has  also  been  scattered  over 
the  surface.  Taken  six  inches  deep. 

No.  4.  Red  clayey  subsoil  of  the  above.  Taken  from  six  to  twelve  inches 
deep, 

TABLE  I. 


Analyses  of  Soils  dnd  Subsoils  of  College  flafUL 


Unfertilized  Plats  oe 
Fertilized  Test  Field, 

fertilized  Plats  op 
Cotton  Variety  Field. 

Light  Soil, 

No.  1. 

Bed  Subsoil. 

No.  2. 

Light  Soil, 

No.  3, 

Red  Subsoil. 

No,  4. 

Insoluble  residue, 

Soluble  Silica 

Potasb  ....  — ....  

Soda 

T.ime . , . , . . . . ....  , . 

00.'Slf  91.553 
.124 
.072 
.120 
.145 
,008 
2.258 
2.993 
.056 
.016 
2.541 

7L523  \ 88*989 
.155 
.141 
,149 
.163 
.017 
3.305 
4.701 
.157 
.024 
2,510 

“Iwi1  w-8« 

.104 

.061 

.114 

.103 

.103 

1,300 

2.533 

.148 

.020 

3.621 

88,824  l gj, 
.625) 

.087 

.064 

.108 

.190 

.003 

5,775 

4.026 

.010 

.023 

2.615 

Magnesia 

Brown  Oxide  of  Manganese 

Iron  Oxide — ......... 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  Acid 

Sulphuric  Acid 

Vegetable  matter  and  water 

Hygroscopic  moisture, . . 

99.888 

1.5o 

100.311 

1.95 

100,382 

0.97 

100.410 

2.80 

The  Soil  of  the  unfertilized  plats  (No.  1)  contains  a fair  amount  of  potash 
for  one  so  sandy  in  character,  and  has  also  a fair  amount  of  lime  and  mag- 
nesia. The  phosphoric  acid,  however,  is  Very  low,  and  were  it  not  for  the 
subsoil,  which  is  well  supplied  with  this  important  element  of  fertility,  the 
cotton  plants  would  not  be  as  thrifty  nor  yield  such  fair  crops  as  are  yearly 
produced  on  these  unfertilized  plats  (see  Table  II  below).  The  potash  of  the 
subsoil  is  fair.  With  larger  percentages  of  potash  and  lime  in  the  subsoil, 
the  yields  in  cotton  would  more  nearly  equal  those  of  the  manured  plats. 

The  soil  and  subsoil  of  that  portion  of  the  field  nearest  the  old  College 
Chapel,  and  devoted  to  the  tests  with  varieties  of  cotton,  are  not  as  rich  in 
plant  food  as  those  of  the  other  part  of  the  field,  and  contain  much  building 
rubbish  in  places.  The  potash  percentage  is  very  low  in  each,  the  lime  and 
magnesia  percentages  are  fair,  while  in  the  amounts  of  phosphoric  acid  that 
of  the  soil  is  large  and  of  the  subsoil  deficient,  This  soil  doubtless  has 


derived  its  excess  above  the  other  soil  (No.  1)  from  the  cotton  seed  that  has 
at  times  been  thrown  over  its  surface.  The  subsoil  has  not  apparently  been 
benefited  by  it. 

The  larger  alumina  and  iron  percentages  in  the  subsoils  show  the  increased 
amount  of  clay  above  that  of  the  soils,  and  also  account  for  the  greater 
amount  of  hygroscopic  moisture,  or  increased  retentive  power  for  moisture. 


Small  Grain  Field. 


8 


118 

Taylor 

119 

Jow,ers 

Improved 

130 

Wise 

121 

Taylor 

122 

Jo  were 
Improved 

85 

Crossland 

93 

Meyers  Texas 

101 

Dickson’s 

Cluster 

109 

Williamson 

Shines 

Prolific  U 

Early 

117 

22 

CD  w 

* B 

e8  ® 

84 

93 

100 

108 

1] 

a) 

'6 

Peterkin 

Thomas 

Duncan’s 

Mammoth 

Cobweb 

Cherry 

Long  Stapl 

Griffin’s 

Improved 

83 

91 

99 

107 

115 

Common 

Williamson 

Richardson 

New  Texas 

Drought  Proof 

83 

Dickson’s 

Cluster 

90 

Ccbweb 

98 

Dickson’s 

Improved 

106 

Hays  China 

114 

Allen’s  Silk 

81 

Duncan’s 

Mammoth 

89 

New  Texas 

97 

Jones’ 

Improved 

105  J 

Crawford’s 

Peerless 

113 

Herlong 

80 

88 

96 

104 

112 

Richardson 

Hay’s  China 

Drought  Proof 

Crossland 

Meyer’s  Texas 

79 

Dickson’s 

Improved 

87 

Ozier  Silk 

95 

Allen’s  Silk 

103 

Peterkin 

111 

Thomas 

78 

Jones’s 

Improved 

86 

Crawford’s 

Peerless 

95 

Herlong 

102 

Common 

110 

Ozier  Silk 

Divine  Street. 


PLATS  WITH  COTTON  VARIETIES. 


Sumter  Street. 


9 


EXPEKIMENTS  WITH  COTTON. 

The  greater  number  of  the  experiments  on  the  Farm  have  been  given  to 
cotton,  because  of  its  importance  to  the  farmers  of  the  State.  These  experi- 
ments embraced  competitive  tests  of  such  of  the  many  varieties  offered  for 
sale  in  this  and  other  States  that  could  be  obtained  ; and  tests  with  a large 
number  of  fertilizers,  both  commercial,  home-made  and  of  chemicals.  These 
were  made  in  duplicate  upon  plats  widely  separated,  so  as  to  represent  a fair 
average  and  neutralize  such  results  as  might  be  due  chiefly  to  differences 
in  fertility  in  the  plats. 

In  making  these  tests,  the  many  difficulties  incident  to  all  cotton  crops 
were  encountered  ; the  great  trouble  in  securing  a good  stand  in  the  sandy 
soil,  the  retarding  of  the  growth  of  the  young  plants  by  lack  of  moisture  and 
sufficient  plant  food  in  the  soil,  and  by  cool  nights,  the  disasters  by  winds, 
hail  and  drought,  as  well  as  the  misfortunes  attending  a four  months’  harvest 
time,  have  all  been  experienced,  and  have  influenced  seriously  the  compara- 
tive results.  The  results,  therefore,  of  the  experiments,  as  shown  in  the 
tables,  must  be  taken  only  as  general,  and  small  differences  in  yields  may  be 
disregarded.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  average  product  obtained 
does,  in  very  many  cases,  represent  the  true  result  under  fair  conditions. 

The  results  given  in  the  tables  are  of  special  value,  in  that  they  have  been 
conducted  for  a series  of  four  years  upon  the  same  plats,  thus  covering  both 
favorable  and  unfavorable  seasons. 

Season  of  1886. — The  season  at  the  time  of  planting,  and  for  several  weeks 
after,  was  most  unfavorable.  While  rains  were  not  infrequent,  the  effects  were 
not  beneficial,  by  reason  of  much  cold  wind,  which  dried  the  soil  so  rapidly 
that  germination  of  the  seed  was  rendered  slow  and  imperfect.  Consequently 
the  stands  were  wretched,  requiring  continued  replanting  until  about  the  22d 
of  June.  The  cotton  plant  grew  off  very  slowly  and  appeared  most  unpromising 
until  July,  when  the  season  became  propitious  and  cotton  improved  and  boiled 
rapidly  and  heavily  until  the  end  of  the  month,  when  cold  winds  set  in  and 
the  crop  failed  rapidly  under  the  blighting  influence  of  the  hot  sun  of  the 
day  and  the  cool  winds  of  night.  There  was  dew  during  the  month  of  August 
and  little  or  no  rain.  Under  these  circumstances  cotton  again  failed  rapidly 
and. almost  ceased  blooming  until  in  September,  when  the  rains  began  and 
the  crop  took  a second  growth,  producing  a new  crop  of  bolls,  too  late,  how- 
ever, to  mature  before  the  killing  frost  on  the  27th  of  November.  There  was 
no  middle  crop  made,  and  although  there  was  a good  top  crop  of  bolls,  they 
were  too  late  and  made  nothing.  The  result  was  the  shortest  crop  of  cotton 
ever  made  on  the  Farm. 

The  corn  crop  was  excellent,  a fine  stand  being  secured  at  the  start  and 
the  season  favorable  to  the  end.  The  yield  was  remunerative  and  very  satis- 
factory, having  been  made  very  economically  at  a cost  of  $2. 70  per  acre  for 
fertilizer  and  inexperienced  labor. 

TESTS  OF  FERTILITY  OF  THE  NATURAL  SOIL. 

In  order  to  determine  as  nearly  as  possible  the  average  fertility  of.  the  soil 
in  its  unfertilized  condition,  with  which  to  compare  the  results  of  the  tests 


10 


with  fertilizers,  eleven  plats  were  selected  in  1883  in  diagonal  rows  across  the 
field,  as  shown  in  the  diagram.  This  it  was  believed  would  secure  an  almost 
exact  average  of  the  whole  lot.  These  plats  have  remained  unfertilized  and 
the  cotton  produced  by  them  has  been  carefully  weighed  and  estimated  per 
ncre.  The  results  upon  each  plat  appear  in  the  following  table,  in  which  also 
is  given  the  general  average  of  each  plat  for  the  four  years,  the  general 
.average  of  all  of  the  plats  for  each  year,  and  finally  that  of  all  the  plats  for 
the  entire  four  years  : 

TABLE  II. 

Tests  of  Fertility  of  the  Unfertilized  Flats. 


YIELD  IN  SEED  COTTON  PER  ACRE  IN  POUNDS. 

5 

Manure. 

Each  Plat. 

Average  of  All  the  PlAts. 

■ O 

o 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

Aver’ge 
for  Four 
Years. 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

Aver’ge 
1886.  !for  Four 
! Years. 

4 

None. 

1,150 

1,100 

1,260 

1,230 

1,300 

950 

1,400 

1,380 

1,580 

1,380 

1,240 

1,120 

1,280 

1,280 

1,200 

1,100 

1,428 

913 

858 

1,209 

1,057 

1,201 

11 

834 

21 

25 

n 

1,018 

1,160 

1,239 

960 

944 

u 

790 

1,140 

1,235 

937 

1,165 

1,038 

967 

31 

41 

46 

1,162 

720 

834 

1,120 

1,811 

1,097 

804 

1,083 

it 

1,170 

1,020 

1,140 

750 

1,378 

1,128 

934 

51 

61 

71 

76 

fcl 

726 

tfc 

596 

it 

794 

532 

799 

1,250 

1,460 

1,110 

856 

1,169 

Not  only  does  each  plat  vary  greatly  in  its  own  product  for  each  of  the 
four  years,  but  all  of  the  plats  differ  from  each  other  in  this  regard.  These 
differences  are  doubtless  due  to  some  local  cause,  (such  as  low  places,  where 
washings  from  adjoining  plats  had  accumulated,)  for  the  same  variety  of 
eotton  was  planted  on  all  the  plats  and  the  same  care  was  given  to  each. 

Of  the  several  years  it  will  be  seen  that  1884  was  the  most  favorable, 
because  of  the  very  late  and  long  season  ; whereas,  the  year  1886  was  by  far  the 
least  favorable  for  cotton.  The  plat  yielding  the  highest  average  for  the 
latter  year  was  the  one  which  gave  nearly  the  same  yield  in  1884,  though  at 
that  time  it  stood  seventh  in  productiveness. 

Plat  No.  21  stood  first  in  1884,  but  second  in  1886,  the  decrease  being 
more  than  500  pounds  of  seed  cotton.  On  the  contrary,  plat  71,  which 
yielded  the  least  amount  in  1884,  did  the  same  in  1886,  and  in  the  general 
average  for  the  four  years  also  stands  lowest,  the  difference  between  its 
yield  and  that  of  the  highest  being  436  pounds. 

The  general  average  for  1886  is  very  low,  being  804  pounds  of  seed  cotton, 
or  but  about  275  pounds  of  lint  per  acre.  This  year’s  result  has  brought  the 
general  average  for  the  four  years  down  very  low— 1,085  pounds,  or  about 
362  pounds  of  lint  per  acre,  as  an  average  for  the  entire  number  of  unferti- 
lized plats. 


11 


The  decrease  in  the  yield  of  the  plats  in  1886  amounted  to  27  per  cent,  of 
the  yield  of  1885.  It  was  greatest  in  plats  4 and  46,  being  respectively  forty 
and  thirty-nine  per  cent.  It  was  least  in  the  three  plats  11,  21  and  81,  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  field,  being  from  six  to  nine  per  cent. 

TESTS  WITH  DIFFERENT  VARIETIES  OF  COTTON. 

Our  experiments  with  different  varieties  of  cotton  have  been  in  progress 
since  1888.  The  plats  set  apart  for  these  tests  were  all  in  the  same  part  of 
the  field,  adjacent  to  Sumter  street.  The  soil  was  of  good  quality,  and  of 
apparently  uniform  fertility  throughout.  They  were  not  fertilized.  The 
plats,  1-20  acre  each,  were  parallelograms,  much  longer  than  broad.  They 
were  carefully  laid  off  by  the  students  of  the  College,  under  direction  of  the 
Professor  of  Mathematics.  Every  test  was  made  in  duplicate — the  two  plats 
planted  with  the  same  variety  of  seed  being  separated  from  each  other  by 
considerable  intervals.  The  plats  were  all  prepared  and  manured  alike,  and 
planted  the  same  day,  on  the  23d  of  April.  The  land  was  carefully  checked, 
so  as  to  give  each  the  same  number  of*  hills.  The  after-culture,  the  time  of 
picking,  weighing,  ginning,  &c. , were  the  same  for  all.  Hence,  all  received 
the  same  treatment,  the  only  difference  being  in  the  variety  of  seed  used. 

Efforts  were  made  to  obtain  as  many  as  possible  of  the  varieties  of  cotton 
advertised  and  known  to  be  offered  for  sale,  and  twenty-eight  were  secured. 
Two  of  these,  the  Texas  Storm-proof  and  the  McCall’s  Improved,  were  received 
too  late  to  be  placed  in  competition  with  the  others.  Some  of  the  varieties 
had  already  been  planted  on  the  College  Farm  during  the  previous  years  and 
the  seed  had  become  somewhat  deteriorated  from  close  proximity  to  the 
plants  of  other  varieties,  and  fresh  seed  were  obtained,  as  far  as  possible, 
from  the  owners. 

The  names  of  the  varieties  are  given  in  the  table  below,  arranged  in  the 
order  of  maximum  yield  for  1886. 

In  order  to  make  the  competition  as  fair  as  possible,  the  missing  hills  were 
carefully  determined  by  actual  count,  at  the  close  of  the  season,  and  the 
necessary  calculations  made  to  give  to  each  plat  a full  possible  yield  with  no 
missing  hills. 

Each  variety  was  picked,  weighed,  ginned,  and  again  weighed  separately, 
and  the  percentage  of  lint  carefully  noted.  Every  care  was  taken  to  make 
the  experiments  exact. 


12 


TABLE  III. 

Tests  of  Varieties  of  Cotton  for  1886. 


Varieties. 


79  Dickson’s  Improved. 

98  Same 

120  Wise 

84Peterkin 

103  Same, 

81  Duncan’s  Mammoth. 

100  Same 

85  Crossland 

104  Same.. . . 

83  Common 

102  Same 

122  Jower's  Improved — 
119  Same 

80  Richardson 

99  Same 

121  Taylor  

118  Same 

92 
111 
78 
97 
90 
108 

82 

101 


Thomas 

Same 

Jones’  Improved 

Same 

Cobweb 

Same 

Dickson’s  Cluster. . . 
Same 

86  Crawford’s  Peerless. 

105  Same 

94  Herlong 

113  Same 

93  Meyers  Texas 

112  Same 

87  Ozier  Silk 

HOi  Same 

96  Drought  Proof 

115  Same 

116  Griffin’s  Improved. . . 


88 

106 

89 

107 

95 

114 

91 

109 

117 

116 

117 


Hay’s  China. 

Same 

New  Texas 

Same 

Allen’s  Silk  

Same 

Williamson 

Same 

Shine’s  Early  Prolific. 
Cherry’s  Long  Staple. 
Maxey’s  Texas 


QQ 

Yield 

in  Seed 

Average  op 

T3 

© 

Tk 

Cotton. 

Similar  Plats. 

O <U 
.GO 

Lint  per  Acre. 

a bo 
© >3 

a 

© a 

a C3 
i <3  o 

O'ffi 

t_l  CO 

©C 

Actual. 

Cor- 

rected. 

si® 

Actual. 

Cor- 

rected. 

si  .5 

®i-4 

Ph 

Actual. 

Cor- 

rected. 

4.8 

7.1 

1,120 

1,205 

1,176  ) 
1,296  f 

5.9 

1,163 

1,236 

32.7 

380 

404 

3.2 

1,150 

1,188 

3.2 

1,150 

1,188 

36.4 

419 

432 

6.7 

2.3 

1,170 

1,085 

1,254 ; 
1,112 

4.5 

1,128 

1,183 

39.3 

442 

465 

1.6 

6.3 

1,185 

1,060 

1,204 

1,132 

f 

4.0 

1,123 

1,168 

37.0 

416 

432 

7.5 

2.3 

1,170 

980 

1,266 

1,000 

; 

4.9 

1,075 

1,133 

38.0 

409 

431 

9.5 

2.3 

1,045 

1,010 

1,158  i 
1,034  i 

t 

r 

5.9 

1,028 

1,096 

31.8 

327 

348 

4.6 

3.6 

960 

1,050 

1,040  i 
1,128 ' 

• 

4.1 

1,025 

1,084 

32.3 

331 

350 

6.3 

5,5 

975 

1,055 

1,042  i 
1,116  i 

1 

r 

5.9 

1,015 

1,079 

30.1 

306 

325 

6.4 

4.8 

880 

1,100 

940  i 
1,216  i 

i 

5.6 

990 

1,078 

31.9 

316 

344 

7.1 

5.9 

1,085 

890 

1,168  i 

946  I 

[ 

6.5 

988 

1,057 

32.0 

316 

338 

3.9 

2.3 

990 

1,065 

1,022  j 

1,090  ! 

i 

3.1 

1,028 

1,056 

31.0 

319 

327 

6.3 

1.2 

1,100 

815 

1,174  i 

924  j 

!_ 

3.8 

958 

1,049 

32.0 

307 

336 

5.9 

2.3 

1,035 

950 

1,118  1 

974  j 

i . 

4.1 

993 

1,046 

30.9 

307 

323 

2.7 

5.1 

1,105 

895 

1,138  | 
944  j 

I 

3.9 

990 

1,041 

29.3 

290 

305 

2.4 

1.9 

1,070 

950 

1,096  | 
970| 

i 

2.2 

1,010 

1,033 

30.0 

303 

310 

5.5 

3.5 

1,000 

965 

1,058  | 
1,000  j 

4.5 

983 

1,029 

31.6 

311 

325 

1.1 

5.9 

965 

975 

982) 
1,036  j 

3.5 

970 

1,009 

33.0 

220 

333 

1.9 

3.2 

1,015 

895 

1,034 

926 

2.6 

955 

980 

30.7 

293 

301 

9.5 

840 

980 

9.5 

840 

980 

36.3 

305 

356 

2.4 

3.2 

1,005 

865 

1,0.28  t 
906  f 

2.8 

935 

967 

29.2 

273 

282 

2.4 

1.5 

1,010 

865 

1,034  ) 
878  f 

2.0 

938 

956 

31.2 

293 

298 

4.3 

2.4 

945 
, 880 

988) 
912  f 

3.4 

913 

950 

31.0 

282 

295 

4.7 

7.1 

1,100 

690 

1,156  l 
742  f 

5.9 

895 

949 

31.6 

283 

300 

8.7 

780 

852 

8.7 

780 

852 

32.2 

251 

274 

8.7 

770 

844 

8.7 

770 

844 

30.3! 

233 

256 

4.7 

710 

744 

4.7 

710 

744 

30. o! 

213 

223 

The  so-called  common  cotton  in  the  above  list  is  intended  to  represent  the 
ordinary  unimproved  seed  as  taken  at  random  from  the  gin  house.  It  was 
obtained  in  another  County  and  from  a farm  which  gives  good  yearly  returns. 


13 


The  varieties,  arranged  in  the  above  table  according  to  maximum  yield  in 
seed  cotton  per  acre,  show  very  great  differences  in  productiveness,  that  dif- 
ference amounting  to  as  much  as  492  pounds  between  that  of  the  Dickson’s 
Improved  on  the  one  hand  and  that  of  the  Maxey’s  Texas  on  the  other.  The 
general  average  of  the  entire  number  was  1,080  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per 
acre,  and  it  will  be  observed  that  nineteen  varieties  fall  below  this  average  in 
their  respective  yields. 

In  this  table  the  first  column  gives  the  percentage  of  missing  hills  in  each 
plat.  It  will  be  seen  that  among  the  single  plats  one  each  of  the  Ozier  Silk, 
Cobweb,  New  Texas,  Duncan’s  Mammoth,  Herlong  and  Drought  Proof  varieties 
had  less  than  two  per  cent,  of  its  hills  missing  ; ten  plats  had  less  than  three 
per  cent. ; while  at  the  other  extreme  the  Griffin’s  Improved  and  Common  cot- 
ton had  each  9. 5 per  cent,  missing.  There  are  seventeen  other  plats  which 
had  more  than  five  per  cent,  of  missing  hills. 

Combining  the  plats  which  were  planted  in  the  same  variety  of  cotton,  we 
are  enabled  to  get  the  stand  made  by  each  of  the  twenty-six:  varieties. 

We  thus  find  that  the  New  Texas  with  but  2 per  cent.,  the  Herlong  with  2.2, 
the  Drought  Proof  with  2. 6 and  Hay’s  China  with  2. 8 per  cent,  of  missing 
hills,  took  the  best  stand.  Thirteen  varieties  had  between  3 and  5 per  cent., 
five  varieties  had  between  5 and  6 per  cent.,  the  Thomas  6.5,  the  Shine’s 
Early  Prolific  and  Cherry’s  Long  Staple  each  8.7  per  cent.,  while  the  Griffin’s 
Improved  stands  at  the  other  extreme  with  9.5  per  cent.,  of  missing  hills. 

The  Dickson’s  Improved,  the  Wise  and  Peterkin  varieties,  which  stand  at 
the  head  in  their  respective  yields  per  acre,  had  respectively  5.9,  3.2  and  4.5 
per  cent,  of  missing  hills,  that  of  the  Dickson’s  Improved  being  exceeded 
but  by  four  varieties. 

Taking  the  varieties  planted  in  1885  and  1886,  the  following  table  for  com- 
parison is  made,  showing  the  percentage  of  missing  hills  for  each  variety 
in  each  year,  beginning  with  the  Dickson’s  Improved,  which  in  1885  had 
the  largest  percentage  ; the  remainder  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  highest 
to  lowest : 


TABLE  IV. 

Comparison  of  Percentages  of  Missing  Hills. 


Varieties. 

1885. 

1886. 

Average. 

Dickson’s  Improved 

13.0 

5.9 

1 

9.5 

Jones’  Improved 

8.9 

3.1 

6.0 

Richardson’s  Improved 

8.0 

5.9 

6.3 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

8.2 

40 

6.1 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

8.1 

41 

6.1 

Hay’s  China 

7.3 

2.8 

5.1 

New  Texas 

7.3 

2.0 

47 

Ozier  Silk 

7.0 

3.5 

5.3 

Oobweb 

6.8 

3’ 8 

5.3 

Thomas 

6 3 

6 5 

0.4 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

6.2 

49 

5.‘l 

Williamson 

5.5 

5.9 

5.7 

Common 

5 0 

5 9 

5 5 

Peterkin 

47 

45 

47 

14 


For  1885  the  Dickson’s  Improved  is  seen  to  have  had  the  largest  per  cent, 
of  missing  hills — 18  per  cent. — the  Jones’  Improved,  Richardson  and  Dun- 
can’s Mammoth  coming  next  with  8.9  to  8.2  per  cent.,  and  the.  Peterkin  stand- 
ing at  the  other  extreme  with  but  4.7  per  cent. 

For  1886  the  Thomas  has  the  greatest  per  cent.  (6.5),'followed  by  the  Dick- 
son’s Improved,  Richardson’s  Improved,  Williamson  and  the  Common,  each 
with  5.9  per  cent,  as  already  shown. 

Combining  these  two  years,  we  find  as  an  average  the  Dickson’s  Improved 
with  the  poorest  stand,  9.5  per  cent,  of  its  hills  Jailing  to  come  up.  Next 
comes  the  Thomas  with  6.4  per  cent.,  and  the  Richardson’s  Improved  6.3. 
The  Peterkin  and  New  Texas  had  the  best  stands,  the  seed  coming  up  better 
and  leaving  but  4. 7 per  cent,  of  missing  hills.  Crawford’s  Peerless  and  Hay’s 
China  varieties,  each  with  5.1  per  cent,  missing,  rank  next  in  value  for  the 
the  good  stand  they  made,  followed  by  Ozier  Silk  and  Cobweb.  The  general 
average  of  missing  hills  for  these  14  varieties  for  the  two  years  was  5.8  per 
cent. 

The  second  column  of  the  general  table  III  shows  the  amount  of  seed  cotton 
actually  produced  on  each  plat,  (estimated  for  an  acre  by  multiplication  by 
20);  while  the  third  shows  the  amount  produced  had  there  been  no  missing 
hills.  This  latter  column  places  the  varieties  on  more  of  an  equality.  It, 
however,  adds  very  greatly  to  the  yield  of  such  varieties  as  have  largo 
percentages  of  missing  hills.  The  Griffin  Improved  on  plat  116,  which  really 
produced  840  pounds  per  acre,  is  thus  given  an  increase  of  140  pounds  of 
seed  cotton  ; the  Common  variety  on  plat  83  gains  113  pounds  ; the  Dickson 
Improved  on  plat  98  gains  91  pounds  and  the  Peterkin  on  plat  84  gains 
84  pounds. 

The  plat  yielding  the  greatest  amount  of  seed  cotton,  both  actual  and  cor- 
rected, is  number  98,  with  Dickson’s  Improved.  In  the  previous  year  its 
yield  was  surpassed  by  that  of  twelve  plats.  The  plat  with  the  next  highest 
yield  is  No.  85,  with  1,266  pounds  of  seed  cotton  of  the  Crossland  variety ; 
and  plat  84  comes  next,  with  1,254  pounds  of  Peterkin  variety.  Plat  81 
with  the  Duncan’s  Mammoth  and  plat  118  with  the  Taylor  have  each  an 
average  of  more  than  1,200  pounds,  but  all  other  plats  are  below  this  amount. 
Twelve  of  the  plats  had  over  1,100  pounds  and  thirteen  plats  above  1,000 
pounds  per  acre.  The  plat  yielding  the  least  was  No.  109,  with  the  William- 
son cotton,  its  product  being  but  744  pounds  per  acre. 

In  the  other  columns  of  the  table  the  yield  of  those  plats  having  the  same 
variety  of  cotton  are  combined,  and  thus  represent  more  properly  the  average 
productiveness  of  each  variety.  - The  second  of  these  columns  represents  this 
average  as  having  actually  been  produced  per  acre,  and  the  next  the  yield 
which  each  would  have  produced  had  there  been  a full  stand  with  no  missing 
hills. 

The  varieties  are  arranged  in  the  table  in  the  order  of  maximum  product- 
iveness, the  Dickson’s  Improved  standing  at  the  head,  with  an  average  yield  of 
1,236  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre.  Next  in  productiveness  are  the  Wise 
and  Peterkin  varieties,  nearly  equal  to  each  other,  but^falling  about  50  pounds 
below  the  Dickson’s  Improved.  The  difference  between  their  yields  was  double 
that  of  1886. 


15 


If,  however,  we  take  the  actual  yield  of  each  instead  of  that  corrected  for 
the  missing  hills,  we  find  the  difference  between  the  Dickson’s  Improved  and 
Peterkin  varieties  to  be  far  less,  viz.:  about  25  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per 
acre  in  favor  of  the  Dickson’s  Improved — an  advantage,  however,  more  than 
compensated  by  the  much  larger  percentage  of  lint  in  the  Peterkin,  which 
gives  to  it  60  pounds  more  of  lint  per  acre,  as  will  be  noticed  below.  This 
relative  position  between  the  Dickson’s  Improved  and  the  Peterkin  is  a dupli- 
cation of  the  actual  results  of  the  better  season  of  1885,  though  they  did  not 
then,  as  now,  stand  at  the  head  of  the  list. 

Duncan’s  Mammoth  variety  ranks  next  to  the  Peterkin  in  yield  in  seed 
cotton  per  acre,  both  actual  and  estimated,  for  1886,  though  the  actual  differ- 
ence between  the  two  varieties  amounted  to  but  a few  pounds.  In  the  pre- 
vious year  the  same  slight  difference  in  the  actual  yield  was  noted,  while 
with  the  corrections  for  missing  hills  the  yield  was  80  pounds  more  than  that 
of  the  Peterkin.  The  above  varieties  had  each  an  actual  yield  of  more  than 
1,100  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre. 

The  next  group,  comprising  those  yielding  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  are  the 
Crossland,  Common,  Jowers’  Improved,  Richardson’s  Improved,  Jones’ 
Improved  and  Herlong,  the  extremes  being  1,075  pounds  for  the  first  and 
1,010  pounds  for  the  last.  Making  corrections  for  missing  hills,  the  Cross- 
land would  have  had  a yield  of  over  1,100  pounds  and  the  production  of  the 
others  very  materially  increased,  though  still  falling  below  1,100  pounds.  Of 
these  the  Jones’  Improved  in  1885  ranked  next  to  the  maximum  in  produc- 
tion* but  has  suffered  greatly  by  the  severity  of  the  season.  The  Herlong  and 
Jowers  were  not  tested  in  1885. 

The  next  group,  or  those  whose  actual  yields  were  from  900  to  1,000  pounds, 
embrace  eleven  varieties.  The  correction  for  missing  hills  gives  to  seven  of 
these  a yield  of  more  than  1,000  pounds  per  acre.  These  are  the  Taylor, 
Thomas,  Cobweb,  Dickson’s  Cluster,  Crawford’s  Peerless,  Meyer’s  Texas  and 
Ozier  Silk.  Of  these  the  Dickson’s  Cluster  in  the  previous  year  stood  highest 
in  its  production  and  the  Thomas  third.  Of  the  rest  of  the  group  the  Hay’s 
China  and  Hew  Texas  alone  were  planted  in  1885,  each  giving  a yield  of  more 
than  1,200  pounds  per  acre.  The  Drought  Proof  and  Allen’s  Silk  were  under 
the  disadvantage  of  a very  poor  season. 

The  group  having  an  actual  yield  of  less  than  900  pounds  of  seed  cotton 
per  acre  embraces  five  varieties,  one  only— the  Williamson — having  duplicate 
plats.  Several  of  them  were  even  confined  to  half  plats  for  lack  of  space  on 
the  field  assigned  to  the  tests.  Maxey’s  Texas  stands  lowest  among  the  entire 
list  of  varieties  in  its  average  of  710  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre. 

The  next  division  of  the  table,  that  showing  the  percentage  of  lint  in  the 
seed  cotton  of  each  variety,  and  the  yield  in  lint  per  acre,  is  one  of  very 
special  importance  and  interest.  It  is  very  generally  considered  that  seed 
cotton,  as  a rule,  will  on  ginning  yield  one-third  of  its  weight  in  lint.  We 
see,  however,  in  glancing  at  the  first  of  these  columns  that  there  is  a very 
great  difference  between  the  varieties  in  this  respect,  that  difference  varying 
from  39.3  to  29.2  per  cent.,  or  ten  per  cent,  between  the  maximum  and  mini- 
mum. Of  the  twenty-six  varieties  given  in  the  table,  there  are  but  five 


16 


whose  percentage  of  lint  is  33.3  or  more.  These  are  the  Peterkin,  Cross- 
land, Duncan’s  Improved,  Wise  and  Griffin’s  Improved.  The  general  average 
percentage  for  the  twenty-six  varieties  is  but  30.3,  or  exactly  three  per  cent, 
less  than  the  accepted  one-third. 

Arranged  in  the  order  of  maximum  percentage  we  obtain  the  following  : 


1. 

Peterkin 

. . . .39.3 

14. 

Williamson 

. . .31.6 

2. 

Crossland 

....38.0 

15. 

Meyer’s  Texas 

...31.6 

3. 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

....37.0 

16. 

New  Texas 

.. .31.2 

4. 

Wise . 

. . . .36.4 

17. 

Jones’  Improved 

...31.0 

5. 

Griffin’s  Improved 

. . . .36.3 

18. 

Allen’s  Silk 

. . .31.0 

6. 

Ozier  Silk 

....33.0 

19. 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

...30.9 

7. 

Dickson’s  Improved . . . . 

. . . .32.7 

20. 

Drought  Proof 

..  .30.7 

8. 

Jowers  Improved 

. . . .32.3 

21. 

Cherry’s  Long  Staple 

9. 

Shine’s  Early  Prolific .... 

. . . .32.2 

22. 

Maxey’s  Texas 

...30.3 

10. 

Thomas 

. . . .32.0 

23. 

Richardson’s  Improved . . . 

...30.1 

11. 

Cobweb 

. . . .32.0 

24. 

Herlong 

. .30.0 

12. 

Taylor 

....31.9 

25. 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

. . .29.3 

13. 

Common 

. . . .31.8 

26. 

Hay’s  China 

.. .29.2 

In  making  these  estimates  great  care  was  used  by  the  Superintendent  that 
the  weights  both  before  and  after  ginning  should  be  made  with  accuracy, 
and  the  above  are  correct  so  far  as  the  Farm  experiments  for  1886  are  con- 
cerned. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  several  of  those  varieties  that  rank  highest  in 
point  of  productiveness  in  seed  cotton  per  acre  do  not  yield  their  one-third  of 
lint.  The  Dickson’s  Improved,  which  stands  first,  thus  fails  in  its  lint,  as  does 
the  Jowers  Improved,  Richardson,  Taylor,  Thomas  and  Jones’  Improved.  * 

The  effect  of  this  varying  percentage  upon  the  value  of  the  crop  is  seen  in 
the  next  columns,  which  give  the  amount  of  lint  per  acre  actually  produced  and 
also  as  corrected  for  missing  hills.  It  thus  appears  that  the  Peterkin  with 
its  highest  percentage  of  lint  on  the  seed  also  stands  as  highest  in  yield  in 
lint  per  acre,  442  pounds ; and  that  the  five  varieties  ranking  next  are,  in  the 
order  of  yield,  the  Wise,  Duncan’s  Mammoth,  Crossland,  Dickson’s  Improved 
and  Jowers  Improved.  And  again,  that  while  the  Dickson’s  Improved  ranks 
highest  in  yield  in  seed  cotton  per  acre,  it  falls  sixty-two  pounds  in  lint 
behind  the  Peterkin  which  ranked  third  in  its  seed  cotton  product,  and 
twenty-nine  pounds  in  lint  behind  the  Crossland  which  ranked  as  fifth  in  its 
seed  cotton  yield. 

Fourteen  of  these  varieties  were  tested  in  1885,  and  on  comparing  the  results 
of  the  two  years  we  obtain  the  following  table  of  lint  percentages,  the  varieties 
arranged  in  the  order  of  average  for  the  two  years  : 


17 


TABLE  Y. 

Comparison  of  Percentage  of  Lint  for  1885  and  1886. 


Variety. 

1885. 

1886. 

Average. 

1 

j Gain. 

Loss. 

Peterkin 

38.3 

39.3 

38.8 

1.0 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

30.0 

37.0 

33.5 

7.0 

Ozier  Silk 

33.5 

33.0 

33.3 

0.5 

Dickson’s  Improved 

32.7 

32.7 

32.7 

Thomas 

32.5 

32.0 

32.3 

0.5 

Common 

31.8 

31.8 

31.8 

Williamson 

32.0 

31.6 

31.8 

0.4 

New  Texas 

32.0 

31.2 

31.6 

0.8 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

32.3 

30.9 

31.6 

1.4 

Cobweb 

30.0 

32.0 

31.0 

2.0 

Jones’  Improved 

30.5 

31.0 

30.8 

0.5 

Richardson 

31.3 

30.0 

30.7 

1.2 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

31.5 

29.3 

30.4 

2.2 

Hay’s  China 

31.5 

29.2 

30,4 

2.3 

Notable  changes,  gains  and  losses  are  seen  to  have  occurred  in  1886,  some 
varieties  remaining  nearly  constant  in  their  percentages  of  lint ; others  were 
seriously  affected  by  the  severe  season  of  1886,  while  four  varieties  actually 
gained.  The  latter  embrace  Peterkin,  Duncan’s  Mammoth,  Cobweb  and 
Jones’  Improved.  Most  apparent  among  these  is  Duncan’s  Mammoth,  whose 
increase  in  lint  is  seven  per  cent.  This  can  be  accounted  for,  however,  in 
the  fact  that  for  the  crop  of  1885  the  seed  of  that  variety  were  not  pure,  but 
had  deteriorated  very  greatly,  while  for  1886  fresh  seed,  carefully  selected, 
were  obtained  from  Mr.  Duncan. 

The  Cobweb  gains  two  per  cent,  and  the  Peterkin  one  per  cent.  The 
Dickson’s  Improved  and  Common  varieties  hold  their  own  for  the  two  years, 
while  all  the  rest  have  lost  in  percentages  varying  from  0.4  in  the  Williamson 
to  as  much  as  2. 3 per  cent,  in  the  Hay’s  China. 

In  the  general  average  for  the  t#o  years  the  Peterkin  stands  first,  followed 
by  Duncan’s  Mammoth  and  Ozier  Silk,  these  being  the  only  ones  whose 
average  is  one-third  and  above  ; all  other  varieties  fall  below  this. 

AVERAGES  IN  SEED  COTTON  FOR  SEVERAL  YEARS  OF  CULTIVATION. 

A number  of  the  varieties  included  in  the  experiments  for  1886  had  been 
planted  for  three  consecutive  years,  and,  again,  a number  of  these  for  four 
consecutive  years. 

This  gives  a greater  value  to  the  experimeiits  and  more  nearly  indicates  the 
relative  yield  of  each  variety.  Especially  s6,  as  no  variety  was  planted  on 
the  same  plat  a second  time,  but  each  year  witnessed  a complete  change  in 
the  positions  of  each  variety  of  cotton  planted  on  duplicate  plats. 

Thirteen  varieties  were  planted  during  the  years  1884-5-6,  and  arranging 
them  in  the  order  of  highest  average  for  the  combined  three  years,  we  obtain 
the  following  table,  in  which  are  given  the  yield  for  each  plat  for  each  year, 
the  average  of  plats  planted  in  the  same  variety  of  cotton  for  each  year,  and, 
finally,  the  general  average  of  each  variety  for  the  entire  three  years  : 


2 — EF 


18 


TABLE  VI. 

Yields  for  the  Years  1884,  1885  and  1886. 


YIELD  IN  SEED  COTTON  IN  POUNDS. 


Varieties. 

Single  Plats. 

Average  of 
Similar  Plats. 

General 

Average. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

Seed 

Cotton. 

Lint. 

Dickson’s  Improved 

Same 

1,7G0 

1,880 

1,492 

1,352 

1,176  I 
1,296  \ 

1,820 

1,422 

1,236 

1,492 

488 

Jones’  Improvea 

Same 

1,800 

1,940 

1,431 

1,495 

1,022  l 
1,090  J 

1,870 

1,463 

1,056 

1,463 

454 

Thomas 

Same 

1,640 

1,740 

1,600 

1,259 

1,168  t 
946  j 

1,690 

1,429 

1,057 

1,392 

445 

Peterkin 

Same 

1,880 

1,500 

1,397 

1,115 

1,254  I 
1,112  \ 

1,690 

1,256 

1,183 

1,376 

541 

Common  Seed 

Same . 

1,620 

1,580 

1,580 

1,217 

1,156  / 
1,034  f 

1,600 

1,398 

1,095 

1,364 

434 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

Same 

! 1,760 
| 1,420 

1,317 

1,262 

1,204  I 
1,132  f 

1,590 

1,289 

1,168 

1,346 

499 

Cobweb 

Same 

1,780 

1,600 

1,310 

1,245 

1,174 ; 
924  f 

1,690 

1,277 

1,049 

1,336 

429 

New  Texas 

Same 

1,800 

1,520 

1,373 

1,341 

1,034  i 
878  j 

1,690 

1,357 

956 

1,334 

416 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

Same 

1,720 

1,380 

1,322 

1,634 

1,118  i 
974  J 

1,550 

1,478 

1,046 

1,325 

420 

Richardson’s  Improved... 
Same  

1,520 

1,640 

1,336 

1,088 

1,042  | 
1,116  J 

1,580 

1,211 

1,079 

1,290 

388 

Ozier  Silk 

Same 

1,880 

1,420 

1,284 

1,068 

982  ( 
1,036  f 

1,650 

1,176 

1,008 

1,278 

432 

Hay’s  China 

Same 

1,440 

1,360 

1,325 

1,427 

1,028  ( 
906  f 

1,400 

1,376 

967 

1,248 

364 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

Same 

1,100 

1,340 

1,235 

1,143 

1,138  ) 
944  f 

1,220 

1,189 

1,041 

1,150 

337 

The  differences  between  the  two  extremes,  represented  by  the  Dickson’s  Im- 
proved on  the  one  hand  and  the  Crawford’s  Peerless  on  the  other,  is  342 
pounds  of  seed  cotton.  The  general  average  of  all  the  varieties  is  1,338 
pounds,  and  only  six  of  them  exceed  that  yield.  Two  varieties  yield  above 
1,400  pounds,  seven  others  above  1,300  pounds,  while  three  give  an  average  of 
from  1,200  to  1,300  pounds  and  one  below  1,200  pounds  per  acre.  The 
Dickson’s  Improved  heads  the  list  for  the  three  years,  and  is  far  ahead  of  its 
competitors,  with  the  exception  of  Jones’  Improved,  which  is  but  30  pounds 
less.  The  Thomas  comes  next,  but  with  a yield  of  100  pounds  per  acre  less 
than  the  Dickson’s  Improved.  The  Peterkin,  with  16  pounds  less  than  the 
Thomas,  followed  by  the  Common  and  the  Duncan’s  Mammoth  varieties, 
with  those  mentioned,  make  up  the  group  whose  averages  are  above  that  of 
the  entire  13  varieties. 

The  highest  of  any  variety  for  a single  year  was  1,870  pounds  in  1884  by 
the  Jones  Improved,  and  the  highest  average  of  any  one  plat  was  of  the 
same  variety,  in  1884. 

Tests  for  Four  Years. — Taking  those  varieties  planted  for  the  four  years, 
from  1883  to  1886,  inclusive,  we  gain  still  more  valuable  and  conclusive  re- 
sults, so  far  as  relates  to  these  in  particular. 

There  were  seven  of  these  varieties,  and  they  are  arranged  in  the  following 
.able  in  the  order  of  maximum  production  for  the  entire  four  years.  As  in 


19 


the  previous  table,  the  yields  of  each  plat  for  each  year  and  the  average  of 
plats  having  the  same  variety  of  cotton  are  given. 

TABLE  VII. 

Yields  for  the  Years  1883 , 18 8 If,  1885  and  1886. 


YIELD  IN  SEED  COTTON  IN  POUNDS  PER  ACRE. 


VARIETIES. 

Single  Plats. 

Average  Yield  of 
Similar  Plats.  ! 

General 

Average. 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1880. 

i 

1883. 

1884. 

1886. 

i 

1880. 

Seed 

Cotton. 

Lint. 

Dickson’s  Improved  — 
Same 

920 

1,510 

1,700 

1,880 

1,492 

1,352 

1,170  j 
1,296 

1 

1,206 

1,820 

1,422 

1,230  | 

1 

1,430 

470 

Same 

1 

Jones’  Improved 

Same 

1,110 

1,450 

1,450 

1,150 

1,490 

1,030 

1,500 

1,250 

1,800 

1,940 

1,431 

1,495 

1,022  i 
1,090 

1 

1,330 

1,870 

1,403 

1,050 

1,431 

444 

Same 

1 

Duncan’s  Mammoth  — 
Same 

1,700 

1,420 

1,720 

1,380 

1,020 

1,317 

1,202 

1,322 

1,034 

1,580 

1,217 

1,284 

1,008 

1,204  j 
1,132  I 
1,118  1 
974  \ 
1,156  1 
1,034  < 
982  ; 

i 

1,340 

1,590 

1,289 

1,108 

1,347 

498 

Dickson’s  Cluster — |. . . 
Same 

i 

1,265 

1,550 

1,478 

1,040 

1,335 

413 

Common  Seed 

i 

1,125 

1,600 

1,398 

1,095 

1,304 

415 

Same 

1,000 

1,340 

1,370 

1,580 

1,880 

1,420 

Ozier  Silk 

| 

Same 

1,036  | 

1,333 

1,650 

1,176 

1,009 

1,292 

420 

Same 

1,290 

940 

750 

1 

Richardson’s  Improved. 
Same 

1,520 

1,040 

1,330 

1,080 

1,042, 

1,116 

!_ 

923 

| 

1,580 

1,211 

1,079 

1,198 

301 

Same 

1,080 

The  general  average  of  the  entire  seven  varieties  for  the  four  years  is  1,335 
pounds  of  seed  cotton,  or  but  three  pounds  less  than  for  the  three  years 
already  discussed.  A glance  at  the  table  shows  this  to  be  the  e'xact  average 
of  Dickson’s  Cluster  variety  for  that  time,  and  that  it  stands  midway  between 
the  three  varieties  having  a larger  yield  and  the  three  with  smaller  averages. 
Again,  Dickson’s  Improved  and  Jones’  Improved  alone  have  a yield  of  over 
1,400  pounds;  and  Richardson’s  Improved,  which  for  the  three  later  years 
has  a yield  of  1,290  pounds,  is  by  the  addition  of  1883  to  the  estimate  brought 
down  to  less  than  1,200  pounds. 

The  Dickson’s  Improved  and  the  Richardson’s  Improved  represent  the  twTo 
extremes  of  average  productiveness,  there  being  a difference  of  234  pounds  of 
seed  cotton  between  their  respective  yields.  As  in  the  other  group  or  table, 
so  in  this,  we  find  the  Jones'  Improved  is  nearly  equal  to  the  Dickson’s 
Improved  in  yield,  the  difference  being  but  five  pounds — a difference  so  slight 
that  the  two  varieties  may  be  regarded  as  of  equal  productiveness. 

The  Dickson’s  Improved  and  Jones  Improved  are,  so  far  as  these  experi- 
ments go,  and  so  far  as  these  13  varieties  are  concerned,  fully  entitled  to  be 
regarded  as  the  best  for  the  production  of  seed  cotton. 

AVERAGES  OF  LINT  FOR  THE  SEVERAL  YEARS  OF  EXPERIMENT. 

A matter  of  more  importance  than  seed  cotton  to  the  farmer  is  the  amount 
of  lint  produced  per  acre  by  the  several  varieties  of  cotton,  for  upon  the  lint 
depends  the  chief  money  value  of  the  crop.  To  aid  in  determining  this 
question  of  lint  per  acre,  the  following  tables  of  comparisons  are  presented, 


20 


the  one  for  the  13  varieties  for  the  two  years  of  cultivation,  the  other  for  the 
three  last  years  of  cultivation,  the  amount  of  lint  being  estimated  according 
to  the  percentages  obtained  by  weighing,  as  given  in  previous  tables. 

TABLE  VIII. 

Comparison  of  Combined  Averages  in  Lint  Per  Acre. 


1884-5. 

Pounds 
of  Lint 
Per  Acre. 

1884-5-6. 

Pounds 
of  Lint 
Per  Acre. 

Peterkin 

572 

Peterkin 

541 

Dickson’s  Improved 

530 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

499 

Jones  Improved 

513 

Dickson’s  Improved ... _ . _ 

488 

Thomas 

504 

Jones’  Improved 

454 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

493 

Thomas 

445 

New  Texas . . 

481 

Cobweb 

429 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

478 

Ozier  Silk 

422 

Ozier  Silk  

470 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

420 

Cobweb 

400 

New  Texas 

416 

Richardson’s  Improved 

429 

Richardson’s  Improved 

388 

Hay’s  China 

422  ' 

Hay’s  China 

304 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

3G6 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

337 

For  the  years  1884  and  1885  the  Peterkin  variety  stands  far  ahead  of  its 
competitors,  as  would  be  expected  from  its  large  percentage  of  lint  on  the 
seed,  the  average  being  572  pounds  of  lint  per  acre.  For  the  3 years  from 
1884-6  inclusive  it  again  stands  at  the  head,  with  but  a difference  of  31 
pounds  of  lint  below  that  of  1884-5.  The  Peterkin  cotton,  therefore,  clearly 
is  superior  in  production  of  lint  to  all  other  varieties  tried  on  the  College 
Farm  ; it  having  surpassed  them,  not  only  in  each  year  but  in  combined 
years,  and  with  a large  difference. 

The  Dickson’s  Improved  and  Jones’  Improved  come  next  for  the  two  years, 
1884-5,  the  difference  between  them  being  but  slight.  For  the  three  suc- 
cessive years,  1884-6,  the  Dickson’s  Improved  and  Jones’  Improved  fall  to 
the  third  and  fourth  places  and  Duncan’s  Mammoth  becomes  second,  which 
in  the  two  years’  average  held  the  ninth  place.  The  sudden  coming  to  the 
front  by  the  Duncan’s  is  attributed  to  a careful  selection  of  seed  for  the  crop 
of  1886,  thereby  insuring  an  increase  of  seven  per  cent,  of  lint  for  that  year, 
or  within  2.3  per  cent,  of  the  yield  of  the  Peterkin. 

The  Thomas  variety  comes  in  as  fourth  and  fifth  in  the  respective  com- 
bined yearly  average,  although  in  1886  it  ranks  as  eighth. 

After  the  Thomas,  in  the  above  table,  comes  a group  of  five  varieties — the 
Cobweb,  Ozier  Silk,  Dickson’s  Cluster  and  New  Texas — whose  relative  posi- 
tions are  changed  in  the  two  tables,  the  order  in  which  they  are  there  given 
being  that  for  the  three  years’  average,  the  difference  in  their  yields  for  the 
three  years’  term  being  in  the  extreme  only  13  pounds  of  lint. 

The  next  two  varieties,  Richardson’s  Improved  and  Hay’s  China,  show 
but  little  difference  in  their  yields  of  lint  for  the  years  1884-5,  but  when  1886 
is  included  in  the  average,  Richardson’s  is  foremost  by  24  pounds.  Craw- 
ford’s Peerless,  in  both  averages,  is  the  lowest  of  the  twelve  varieties. 


21 


EFFECT  OF  THE  DROUTH  UPON  SEED  AND  LINT. 

In  order  to  determine,  if  possible,  whether  the  severe  season  of  1886 
affected  most  the  seed  or  the  lint  of  each  variety  of  cotton,  the  following 
table  was  prepared  giving  the  differences  between  the  seed  and  lint  of  the 
crops  of  1885  and  1886,  and  the  percentages  of  loss  of  each.  The  first 
column  gives  the  percentage  of  loss  of  both  seed  and  lint,  the  next  four  the 
loss  in  seed,  and  the  last  four  the  loss  in  lint. 

TABLE  IX. 

Amount  and  Percentage  in  Diminution  in  the  Yields  of  1886. 


Variety. 

Percentage  of 
Loss. 

Yield  op  Seed 

Per  Acre. 

Percentage  of 
Seed  Loss. 

Yield  Lint 

Per  Acre. 

Percentage  of 

Lint  Lost. 

Percentage  of 

Lint  Gained.  1 

1885. 

1886. 

Loss. 

1885. 

1886. 

Loss. 

Peterkin 

5 

I 776 

718 

58 

8 

480 

465 

15 

3 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

9 

902 

736 

166 

18 

387 

432 

Richardson  Improved  

10 

833 

754 

79 

378 

325 

53 

14 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

12 

815 

736 

79 

10 

374 

305 

69 

18 

Dickson’s  Improved 

13 

! 957 

832 

125 

13 

465 

404 

51 

10 

Ozier  Silk 

14 

783 

676 

307 

39 

393 

333 

60 

15 

Cobweh 

17 

794 

713 

81 

10 

383 

336 

47 

12 

Thomas 

26 

965 

719 

246 

25 

464 

338 

126 

27 

Jones  Improved 

27 

1,017 

729 

288 

28 

446 

327 

119 

27 

Hav’s  China.  

2S 

j 943 

685 

258 

26 

433 

282 

151 

35 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

29 

1,001 

723 

278 

28 

477 

323 

154 

32 

New  Texas 

29 

923 

658 

265 

29 

434 

298 

136 

31 

Average 

906 

726 

180 

20 

427 

347 

80 

18 

The  first  column  of  the  above  table  shows  the  percentage  of  loss  in  the  seed 
cotton  yieldof  each  variety  for  the  two  years  1885  and  1886.  The  figures  may  be 
taken  as  indicative  of  the  power  of  each  variety  to  withstand  seasons  of 
drouth.  The  Peterkin  sustained  a loss  of  but  5 per  cent. , the  Duncan’s  Mam- 
moth 9 per  cent.,  and  the  Kichardson’s  10  per  cent.,  that  of  all  other  varieties 
varying  from  12  for  the  Crawford’s  Peerless  to  29  for  the  New  Texas.  The 
three  other  prominent  varieties  which  in  their  yields  rank  highest — the  Dick- 
son’s Improved,  Jones**  Improved  and  Thomas — lost  respectively  18,  27  and  26 
per  cent. 

The  question  now  arises  as  to  how  this  loss  affected  the  seed  and  lint  re- 
spectively. The  next  four  columns  give  the  yields  in  seed  for  1885  and  1886, 
the  difference  between  the  two  and  the  percentage  of  seed  diminution;  and 
the  remaining  tables  show  the  same  comparisons  for  the  lint. 

We  find  from  these  figures  that  the  Peterkin  lost  8 per  cent,  of  seed  and  3 
per  cent,  of  lint — losses  less  than  in  any  other  variety.  The  Kichardson 
comes  next,  with  a loss  of  but  9 per  cent,  of  seed,  while  that  of  its  lint 
amounted  to  14  per  cent.  It  will  be  observed  that  some  of  the  varieties  lost 
most  in  seed  and  others  most  in  lint.  Those  of  the  former  are  Peterkin, 
Dickson’s  Improved,  Ozier  Silk  and  Jones’  Improved,  the  loss  of  the  Ozier 
Silk  being  39  per  cent.  All  the  others  suffered  greatest  in  lint,  the  Hay’s 
China  showing  a loss  of  35  per  cent. 


22 


RELATIVE  VALUES  OF  LARGE  AND  SMALL  SEED  VARIETIES  OF  COTTON. 

It  is  being  urged  on  our  planters  to  select  those  varieties  of  cotton  having 
large  seed,  without  regard  to  the  yield  of  lint,  upon  the  plea  that  the  price 
paid  for  the  seed  by  oil  mills  makes  the  sale  of  the  seed  and  lint  from  the 
large  seed  much  more  profitable  than  from  the  small  seed  varieties.  That 
such  an  idea  is  erroneous  is  clearly  shown  in  the  following  table,  in  which  the 
value  of  the  seed  and  lint  of  each  variety  of  cotton  planted  on  the  experi- 
mental farm  is  given.  The  estimate  is  based  on  the  yield  of  each  per  acre 
for  the  year  1886  and  upon  the  market  valuation  of  ten  dollars  per  ton  for  the 
seed  and  nine  cents  per  pound  for  the  lint. 

The  varieties  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  greatest  values : 

TABLE  X. 

Table  Showing  Relative  Commercial  Values  of  Varieties . 


Yield  Per  Acre. 

Value  Per  Acre. 

Variety. 

Seed 

Cotton. 

Seed. 

Lint. 

Seed.  Lint. 

Total. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Dollars.  Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Peterkin 

1,183 

718 

465 

3 

59 

41 

85 

45 

44 

39.3 

Wise 

1,188 

755 

432 

j 3 

78 

38 

88 

42 

66 

36.4 

Duncan 

1,168 

736 

432 

3 

68 

38 

88 

42 

56 

37.0 

Crossland 

1,133 

703 

431 

3 

52 

38 

79 

42 

31 

38.0 

Dickson’s  Improved 

1,236 

832 

404 

4 

16 

36 

36 

40 

52 

32.7 

Jowers  Improved 

1,084 

734 

350 

, 3 

67 

31 

50 

35 

17 

32.3 

Griffin’s  Improved 

980 

624 

356 

3 

12 

32 

04 

35 

16 

36.3 

Taylor 

1,078 

734 

344 

1 3 

67 

30 

96 

34 

63 

31.9 

Thomas 

1,057 

718 

338 

3 

59 

30 

42 

34 

01 

32.0 

Cobweb 

1,049 

713 

336 

3 

56 

30 

24 

33 

80 

32.0 

Ozier  Silk 

1,009 

676 

333 

1 3 

38 

29 

97 

33 

35 

33.0 

Jones’  Improved 

1,056 

729 

| 327 

! 3 

65 

29 

43 

33 

08 

31.0 

Richardson 

1,079 

754 

325 

3 

77 

29 

25 

33 

02 

30.1 

Meyers  Texas 

1,029 

704 

325 

: 3 

52 

29 

25 

32 

77 

81.6 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

1,046 

723 

323 

3 

61 

29 

07 

32 

68 

30.9 

Herlong 

1,033 

723 

310 

j 3 

62 

27 

90 

31 

52 

30.0 

Crawford 

1,041 

736 

305 

! 3 

68 

27 

45 

31 

13 

29.3 

Drought  Proof 

980 

679 

301 

3 

40 

27 

09 

30 

49 

30.7 

New  Texas 

956 

658 

298 

3 

29 

26 

92 

30 

21 

31.2 

Allen’s  Silk 

950 

656 

295 

3 

28 

26 

55 

29 

83 

31.0 

Hay’s  China 

Shine’s  Early  Prolific 

Cherry’s  Long  Staple 

Maxey’s  Texas 

Williamson 

967 

685 

282 

3 

42 

25 

38 

28 

80 

29.2 

852 

578 

274 

2 

89 

24 

66 

27 

55 

32.2 

844 

588 

256 

o 

94 

28 

04 

25 

98 

30.3 

744 

511 

223 

2 

56 

20 

07 

22 

63 

30.3 

949 

744 

I 205 

! 3 

72 

18 

45 

22 

17 

31.6 

This  table  clearly  shows  that  the  Peterkin,  the  Wise,  Duncan’s  Mammoth 
and  Crossland  varieties,  all,  with  a less  yield  in  seed  cotton  but  with  larger 
percentages  of  lint,  have  a higher  valuation  than  the  Dickson’s  Improved, 
which  stands  at  the  head  in  its  yield  of  seed  cotton.  The  Peterkin,  a char- 
acteristic small  seed  variety  and  ranking  highest  in  the  lint  percentage,  also 
stands  first  in  seed  and  lint  values  per  acre  and  nearly  five  dollars  more 
than  the  Dickson’s  Improved.  The  Wise,  another  small  seed  variety,  stands 
next. 


23 


But  the  point  in  question — viz. : The  relative  values  of  the  high  and  low 
lint  percentage  varieties — is  best  seen  in  the  Crossland  and  Dickson’s  Improved. 
The  former,  with  a seed  cotton  yield  of  103  pounds  less  of  seed  cotton  and 
129  pounds  of  seed  less  than  the  Dickson,  is  worth  $1.79  more  per  acre,  be- 
cause it  has  5.8  per  cent,  more  of  lint  on  its  seed. 

Again,  placing  each  variety  on  an  equality  so  far  as  yield  in  seed  cotton 
per  acre  is  concerned,  that  yield  to  be  equal  to  the  highest,  or  1,236 
pounds  per  acre,  but  with  the  same  differences  in  percentages  of  lint,  we 
obtain  the  following  valuations  for  some  of  them  : 


Per  Cent,  of  Lint. 

Dollars. 

Peterkin 

39.3 

47  46 

Crossland 

....38.0 

46  13 

Duncan 

37.0 

45  05 

Wise 

36.4 

44  43 

Dickson’s  Improved 

. . .32.7 

40  52 

Hay’s  China 

29.2 

36  11 

The  high-percentage-lint  varieties  again  in  this  table  stand  first  in  value, 
while  those,  on  the  contrary,  having  very  low  percentages,  as  in  the  Hay’s 
China  given  above,  have  the  least  value,  though  the  weight  of  seed  is  greatest. 

The  above  tables  and  facts  are  brought  out  to  convince  cotton  planters  of 
the  great  importance  of  a careful  selection  of  cotton  seed,  and  especially 
with  reference  to  the  percentage  of  lint  yielded  by  each  of  the  very  many 
varieties  offered  for  sale.  The  tables  speak  for  themselves  and  no  further 
elucidation  is  necessary. 

WEIGHTS  OF  SEED. 

In  order  to  classify  the  various  cotton  varieties  with  regard  to  large  or  small 
seed,  samples  of  each  were  taken  from  the  stalk,  the  lint  from  an  entire  boll 
removed  from  the  seed  and  each  weighed.  The  following  table  gives  the 
number  of  seed  in  a four-lock  boll  of  each  variety  and  the  weights  of  both 
seed  and  lint,  their  combined  weight  being,  of  course,  that  of  the  boll. 

In  order  to  make  the  comparison  equal  between  the  varieties,  the  estimate 
is  made  for  ten  of  the  seed  of  each,  and  the  table  is  therefore  arranged  accord- 
ing to  maximum  weight  of  the  latter.  A column  showing  the  lint  belonging 
to  the  ten  seed  is  added  : 


24 


TABLE  XI. 


Comparative  Weights  of  Seed  in  Grains. 


Variety. 

Number  of  Seed 

in  1 Boll.  w 

o 

Weight  of  Seed.  ^ 

>LL  OF  C 

a 

3 

o 

'§3 

'S 

£ 

o 

Total  WTeight  of  g 

Seed  and  Lint.  ^ 

Average  Weight  of  10 

Seed. 

Griffin’s  Improved 

29 

59.9 

30.9 

90.8 

20.6 

Meyers  Texas 

33 

69.3 

38.2 

107.5 

19.2 

Duncan’s  Mammoth  

33 

61.8 

27.8 

89.6 

18.7 

Maxey’s  Texas 

go 

59.1 

28.7 

88.8 

18.5 

Shine’s  Early  Prolific 

29 

53.0 

29.1 

82.1 

18.3 

Allen’s  Silk 

35 

• 63.9 

34.9. 

98.8 

18.3 

Cobweb 

28 

49.3 

23.8 

73.1 

17.7 

Richardson’s  Improved  

35 

80.5 

29.7 

89.2 

17.3 

Drought  Proof 

33 

65.0 

30.8 

95.8 

16.6 

Ozier  Silk 

31 

48.0 

24.9 

72.9 

15.5 

Williamson 

33 

48.6 

23.3 

71.9 

15.1 

Jowers  Improved 

35 

51.8 

25.3 

77.1 

15.1 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

35 

51.5 

27.0 

78.5 

14.7 

Hay’s  China 

38 

55.5 

28.4 

83.9 

14.6 

Cherry’s  Long  Staple 

32 

46.4 

22.6 

69.0 

14.5 

Thomas 

31 

44.8 

21.8 

66.6 

14.4 

Jones’  Improved 

35 

50.00 

24.8 

74.8 

14.3 

Herlong 

39 

55.2 

25.4 

80.6 

14.2 

Peterkin . . 

38 

52.3 

32.0 

84.3 

13.7 

New  Texas 

33 

43.7 

24.5 

68.2 

13.2 

Dickson’s  Improved 

37 

48.2 

25.3 

73.5 

13.0 

Taylor 

30 

46.9 

18.7 

65.6 

12.3 

Wise 

40 

45.7 

30.6 

76.4 

11.4 

Crossland 

38 

42.8 

28.1 

70.9 

11.3 

Crawford 

34 

39.2 

19.0 

58.2 

11.2 

The  first  column,  which  gives  the  number  of  seed  in  a boll,  refers  only  to 
those  examined.  In  selecting  the  samples  only  the  four  lock  bolls  were 
chosen.  The  weights  of  seed  and  lint  are  those  included  in  the  boll.  From 
the  weights  of  the  seed  the  estimate  for  ten  seed  is  given  in  the  last  column. 

It  will  be  seen,  on  examining  this  column,  that  the  Griffin’s  Improved 
cotton  has  the  heaviest  seed,  the  ten  weighing  as  much  as  20.6  grains  ; that 
in  five  varieties  the  seed  weigh  from  18.3  to  19.2  grains.  Duncan’s  Mam- 
moth, the  most  prominent  of  these  large  seed  varieties  because  of  its  large 
yield  per  acre,  has  seed  weighing  18.7  grains. 

Turning  to  the  other  end  of  the  table,  we  find  several  prominent  varieties 
with  10  seed  weighing  but  11  to  13  grains,  and  here  too  is  the  Dickson’s  Im- 
proved, noted  in  the  list  as  having  the  greatest  seed  cotton  product  per  acre. 

Whether  these  differences  in  weight  of  the  many  varieties  are  due  to  the 
size, or  to  the  contents  of  the  seed  is  a subject  worthy  of  further  investiga- 
tion. 


FIELD  TESTS. 

The  following  field  tests  of  several  of  the  leading  varieties  have  been  made 
in  1885  and  1886,  on  the  field  to  the  east  of  the  chief  experimental  lot. 

An  acre  was  given  to  each  variety  and  all  of  these  plats  were  prepared  and 
manured  alike. ; planted  in  the  same  way  and  the  same  care  and  cultivation 
given  to  each.  The  results  are  given  in  the  following  table : 


25 


TABLE  XII. 


Field  Tests  of  Varieties . 


PLATS  ONE  ACRE  EACH. 

VARIETY. 

Yield  in  Seed  Cotton 
Per  Acre.— Pounds. 

j Yield  in  Lint  Per  Acre. 

—Pounds. 

1885. 

1886. 

1885. 

1866. 

Average. 

Peterkin 

1,516 

1,348 

1,209 

983 

580 

386 

Crawford’s  Pcorloss 

425 

Ozier  Silk 

844 

405 

279 

Crossland 

934 

355 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

892 

330 

Herlong 

980 

294 

The  Peterkin  thus  stands  ahead  of  these  six  varieties  in  yield  both  in  seed 
cotton  and  lint  per  acre,  for  the  two  years.  The  Crawford  variety  was  not 
tested  in  1886.  The  Crossland  ranks  next  to  the  Peterkin  in  this  year. 

LENGTH  OF  COTTON  FIBRE. 

Among  the  investigations  instituted  in  the  class  room  of  the  Agricultural 
course  in  the  South  Carolina  College  was  that  of  the  length  of  the  fibre  of 
each  variety  of  cotton  grown  on  the  Experimental  Farm.  Samples  were 
taken  from  the  growing  stalk,  the  lint  removed  from  the  seed  very  carefully 
to  avoid  breaking  it,  and  measurements  made  of  10  or  more  fibres.  This  work 
was  done  by  the  students,  under  direction  of  the  Professor  of  Agriculture. 

Examinations  in  regard  to  the  strength  and  width  of  the  fibre  were  also 
begun. 

The  measurements  of  length  are  given  in  the  following  table,  the  varieties 
of  cotton  being  arranged  from  greatest  to  least : 


AGRI; 


- a ura: 


experiment  station, 


■ n 


1883 

V^SITY  OF  ILLINOIS, 


26 


TABLE  XIII. 


Length  of  Cotton  Fibre. 


Variety. 

Length 
in  Inches. 

VARIETY. 

Length 
in  Inches. 

Allen’s  Silk 

1,505 

j Pi  chard son’s  Improved 

1,148 

1,123 

Taylor  

1,490 

1,353 

Dickson’s  Improved 

Cherry’s  Long  Staple 

Wise 

1,108 

1,105 

1,100 

1,089 

1,083 

1,076 

1,075 

1,066 

1,023 

Dickson’s  Cluster 

1,316 

Thomas 

Shine’s  Early  Prolific 

1,306 

1,271 

New  Texas 

Peterkin 

Drought  Proof 

Crawford’s  Peerless 

1,238 

1,218 

Duncan’s  Mammoth 

Hay’s  China 

Herlong 

Maxey’s  Texas 

1,210 

1,186 

1,181 

1,170 

1,157 

Ozier  Silk  

Crossland 1 

Williamson 

Meyer’s  Texas 

.Towers’  Improved 

Cobweh 

Jones’  Improved 

The  variety  having  the  greatest  length  of  lint  is  the  Allen’s  Silk,  which 
averaged  one  and  a half  inches,  or  half  an  inch  longer  than  I the  lowest  of 
the  table,  the  Jowers’  Improved.  The  Taylor  cotton  also  nearly  averages 
one  and  a half  inches  in  length,  while  Cherry’s  Long  Staple  falls  below  more 
than  a tenth  of  an  inch.  In  addition  to  the  latter,  the  lint  of  the  Dickson’s 
Cluster  and  Shine’s  Early  Prolific  measured  more  than  1.3  inches.  Four 
varieties  measure  a little  more  than  1.2  inches,  six  varieties  1.1  inches,  and 
the  rest  below  that,  though  all  above  an  inch. 

The  general  average  of  lengths  of  all  the  varieties  combined  was  1.186 
inches. 

It  is  proposed  to  repeat  these  measurements  in  the  crop  of  1887,  embracing 
the  new  varieties  of  cotton  brought  into  the  experiments  of  that  year. 


Bull  Street. 


27 


Street. 


u 

22 

33 

44 

55 

66 

77 

Ashley 

c.  &c. 

Compound 

S.  C. 
Compost 

No  8 

Ashley 

Sol.  Guano 

Ashley 

c.  & c.  c. 

S.  C. 
Compost 

No  8 

Nitrate  of 
Soda 

10 

21 

32 

43 

54 

65 

76 

Ashley 

Sol. 

Guano 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  7 

Edisto 

Ash 

Element 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  7 

9 

20 

31 

42 

53 

64 

75 

Edisto 

Ash 

Element 

Eddystone 

Barnyard 
10  tons 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  6 

Ash 

Element 

8 

19 

30 

41 

52 

63 

74 

Eddystone 

Barnyard 

10  tons 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  6 

Crushed 
Cotton  Seed 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  5 

Complete 

Compost 

7 

18 

29 

40 

51 

62 

73 

Etiwan 

Sol. 

Guano 

Crushed 
Cotton  Seed 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  5 

Etiwan 

Sol. 

Guano 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  4 

Ashley 

A.  P.  & 
Bone  Meal 

6 

17 

28 

39 

50 

61 

72 

Ashley 

Acid 

Phosphate 

Cotton  Seed 
Meal 

S.  C. 
Compost 
No  4 

Ashley 

Acid 

Phosphate 

Cotton  Seed 
Meal 

Nitrate 

Soda 

5 

- 16 

27 

38 

49 

60 

71 

Floats 

Ash 

Element 

N.  C. 
Compost 

Floats 

Ash 

Element 

N.  C. 
Compost 

4 

15 

26 

37 

48 

59 

70 

Salt 

Ga.  & Ala. 
Compost 

Floats  & 
Salt 

Salt 

Ga.  & Ala. 
Compost 

Ash 

Element 

3 

14 

25 

36 

47 

58 

69 

Floats  & 
Salt 

Kainit 

Bone  Meal 

Kainit 

Furman 

Compost 

Complete 

Compost 

O 

13 

24 

35 

46 

57 

68 

Bone  Meal 

Bone  Meal 
& Salt 

Furman 

Compost 

Bone  Meal 
& Salt 

Ash 

Element 

(Ashley) 

Ashley 

A P and 
Bone  Meal 

i 

12 

23 

34 

45 

56 

67 

Barnyard 
20  tons 

Crushed 
Cotton  Seed 

Ashley  Sol- 
, uble  Guano 
40  lbs 

Ash 

Element 

(Ashley) 

Barnyard 
20  tons 

Crushed 
Cotton  Seed 

Ashley  Solu- 
, ble  Guano 

1 40  lbs 

Street. 


PLATS  WITH  VARIETIES  OF  FERTILIZERS. 


Field  for  Small  Chain. 


28 


EXPERIMENTS  WITH  FERTILIZERS. 

The  lot  devoted  to  experiments  with  various  fertilizers  on  cotton  (the 
Thomas  variety)  occupies  the  eastern  part  of  the  field,  lying  between  Sumter 
and  Bull  streets,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  first  diagram  given  in  this  Report. 
This  lot  was  divided  into  77  plats  of  1-20  of  an  acre,  and  each  checked  off, 
giving  to  each  230  hills.  A certain  number  of  these  plats  were  reserved  and 
left  unfertilized  to  test  the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  results  have 
already  been  given  in  the  first  of  the  Report.  Each  fertilizer  was  assigned  to 
particular  duplicate  plats  (see  accompanying  diagram),  which  were  widely 
separate,  and  the  same  care  and  cultivation  given  to  all  of  the  plats.  These 
experiments  (with  the  exception  of  a very  few)  have  been  conducted  for 
four  years,  each  fertilizer  being  assigned  to  the  same  plat  each  year ; the 
results,  thus  repeated  yearly,  are  becoming  more  and  more  valuable. 

Unfortunately  the  lands  had,  previous  to  1883,  been  very  highly  fertilized, 
and  the  results  of  the  experiments  are  not  as  marked  as  they  would  have  been 
on  a poorer  soil.  The  effect  of  the  fertilizers  is  mainly  seen  in  a taller  and  more 
vigorous  plant  in  contrast  to  the  low  stalks  of  the  natural  plats.  The  season 
of  1886  was  a very  severe  one  on  cotton,  and  the  average  of  the  natural  soil 
of  the  field  was  lower  than  for  any  previous  year,  amounting  to  only  804 
pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre. 

The  results  of  the  experiments  are  given  below  in  groups,  the  tables  of 
each  showing  in  successive  columns  the  numbers  of  the  plats,  the  name  of  the 
fertilizer,  the  amount  applied  per  acre,  and  the  results  in  seed  cotton  for  each 
plat  for  1886  and  its  average  for  the  four  years,  and  the  combined  average  of 
the  duplicate  plats  for  each  year  and  for  the  entire  four  years  combined  : 

I.  Experiments  with  Home-Made  Manures  and  Composts. — The  material 
from  which  the  different  composts  were  formed  were  cotton  seed,  stable 
manure,  Ashley  acid  phosphate,  floats  and  kainit,  in  the  proportions,  respect- 
ively, as  given  in  the  following  table.  A test  was  also  made  of  a mixture  or 
compost  of  stable  manure  and  ash  element,  in  the  proportion  of  ten  tons  of 
the  former  and  four  hundred  pounds  of  the  latter,  and  the  result  is  given  in 
this  table.  The  results  of  tests  with  othes  mixtures  and  chemicals  appear  in 
other  tables  : 

TABLE  XIV. 


Constituents  and  Cost  of  a Ton  of  Compost , &c. 


Compost. 

Constituents— Number  of  pounds 

Per  Ton. 

1 

Total  Cost  per 
Ton. 

Acid 

Phos- 

phate. 

Floats. 

Kainit. 

Cotton 

Seed. 

Stable 

Manure. 

Furman’s  Compost . . 

33314 

106% 

750 

750 

$ 8 20 

Georgia  and  Alabama  Compost 

500 

750 

750 

8 62 

North  Carolina  Compost 

800 

200 

600 

400 

11  70 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  4 

750 

350 

600 

300 

12  17 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  5 

750 

350 

600 

300 

10  67 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  6 

750 

350 

900 

13  52 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  7.  

”750  ’ 

350 

900 

12  02 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  8 

1,000 

1,000 

5 50 

Stable  manure 

2,000 

1 50 

Cotton  seed 

2,666 

10  00 

29 


In  each  year  the  compost  heaps  were  formed  during  the  first  week  in  Feb- 
ruary, the  different  ingredients  of  each  being  added  in  alternate  layers,  and  the 
whole  covered  with  a thin  bed  of  soil.  The  cotton  seed  was  made  thoroughly 
wet  before  being  placed  in  the  compost. 

The  beds  were  not  disturbed  until  about  a week  before  the  planting  season — 
the  middle  of  April — when  they  were  distributed  in  the  drill  and  covered  to  a 
depth  of  five  or  six  inches,  or  about  two  or  three  inches  below  the  seed. 

The  following  results  have  been  obtained  from  the  application  of  these  com- 
posts, mostly  at  the  rate  of  1,600  pounds  per  acre  : 

TABLE  XV. 


Home-made  Manures  and  Composts. 


© 

Sh 

3 

0 

YIELD  IN  SEED  COTTON  PER  ACRE  IN  POUNDS. 

£ 

<3 

s 

Crop  op  1886. 

Average  of  Plats  Similarly 

Manure. 

o £ 

Treated 

for  Each  Year. 

s 

B 

3 

& 

o S 

S&H 

■< 

Each 

Plat. 

Average 

for 

4 Years. 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1880. 

General 

Average. 

1 

45 

Barnyard  manure 

Same 

20  tons. 
20  tons. 

1,184 

1,810 

1,172 

1,030 

1,038 

1,352  I 
1,427 j 
1,258  | 
1,597  f 
1,386  | 

1,210 

1,610 

1,495 

1,247 

1,890 

19 

53 

Barnyard  manure 

Same 

10  tons. 
10  tons. 

1,055 

1,560 

1,544 

1,101 

1,315 

20 

Ash  Element,  400  lbs  . . . . ) 

Barnyard  manure,  10  tons  j 
Same 

1,280 

1,640 

1,557 

1,029 

1,376 

54 

10  tons. 

1,020. 

1,108 

922 

1,367 ) 
1,326  / 
1,581  f 
1,227  I 
1,210  f 

28 

62 

32 

65 

So.  Ca.  Compost  No.  4 

Same 

1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 

1,075 

1,580 

1,304 

1,015 

1,228 

So.  Ca.  Compost  No.  7 

Same 

818 

1,124 

1,200 

1,470 

1,233 

971 

1,218 

29 

63 

So.  Ca.  Compost  No.  5 

Same 

1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
1,600  lbs. 
3,200  lbs. 
3,200  lbs. 

1,020 

886 

1,337  l 
1,313  j 
1,401  I 
1,305  f 
1,263  1 
1,077  j 
• 1,256 ! 

1,322  S 

1,270 

1,630 

1,446 

953 

1,327 

30 

64 

So.  Ca.  Compost  No.  6 

Same 

892 

932 

1,230 

1,500 

1,270 

912 

1,228 

26 

59 

Ga.  and  Ala.  Compost 

Same 

944 

818 

1,260 

1,470 

1,017 

881 

1,159 

27 

60 

North  Carolina  Compost  — 
Same 

922 

834 

1,095 

1,490 

1,319 

878 

1,170 

24 

Furman’s  Compost 

984 

1,372  1 
1,379  f 
1,267  I 
1,100  J 

i 1,155 

1,540 

1,390 

862 

1,238 

58 

Same 

740 

33 

66 

So.  Ca.  Compost  No.  8 

1 Same 

780 

862 

1,225 

1,430 

1,220 

821 

1,174 

For  the  year  1886  the  two  single  plats  yielding  the  greatest  amount  of  seed 
cotton  were  numbers  1 and  45,  fertilized  each  with  twenty  tons  of  barnyard 
manure  per  acre.  The  average  of  these  plats — 1,247  pounds — for  the  year 
was  larger  than  that  of  any  other  group,  being  but  16  per  cent,  less  than  for 
1885.  This  would  indicate  that  for  the  drouthy  years  the  barnyard  manures 
hold  moisture  and  keep  the  soil  in  a more  thrifty  condition  than  any  other  of 
those  fertilizers  represented  in  this  table.  For  the  better  years  previous  the 
benefit  of  this  class  of  manures  was  not  so  striking,  though  still  ahead  of  the 
majority  of  the  composts.  The  application  of  ten  tons  per  acre  of  this  manure 
produced  146  pounds  less,  although  in  the  previous  year  the  production  was 
surpassed  only  by  that  in  which  there  was  an  admixture  of  ash  element.  The 
difference  between  the  yields  of  1885  and  1886  was  29  per  cent. 


30 


The  mixture  of  10  tons  of  barnyard  manure  and  400  pounds  of  ash  ele- 
ment, which  in  each  of  the  previous  years  produced  a yield  higher  than  any 
of  this  group  of  fertilizers,  failed  to  do  so  in  1886,  falling  back  to  the  sixth 
place  in  the  list,  with  a decrease  of  528  pounds,  or  84  per  cent,  below  the 
yield  of  1885.  That  even  its  present  rank  is  due  to  the  presence  of  the  barn- 
yard manure,  is  shown  by  the  very  low  yield  from  the  ash  element  alone,  (999 
pounds,)  as  given  in  another  table.  The  general  average  for  the  four  years — 
1,876  pounds — is  surpassed  only  by  that  from  the  use  of  20  tons  of  barnyard 
manure. 

We  next  come  to  the  8.  C.  Compost  No.  4)  which  ranks  next,  with  its  pro- 
ductive power  of  1,015  pounds  per  acre,  or  22  per  cent,  less  than  in  1885. 
In  1883  it  stood  among  the  lowest  of  this  group  of  twelve,  in  1884  among  the 
foremost  four,  and  in  1885  it  ranked  as  eighth.  In  general  average  for  the 
four  years  it  is  surpassed  in  productive  power  by  six  of  this  group  of  fertilizers. 

8.  C.  Compost  No.  7 is  sixth  in  yield  for  188(5,  though  for  the  two  previous 
years  it  was  almost  the  lowest  in  this  group.  Had  plat  No.  32  made  the  same 
relative  yield  to  that  of  the  three  previous  years  as  did  its  duplicate  plat,  in- 
stead of  falling  off  so  very  heavily,  (21  per  cent.,)  the  average  from  this  com- 
post would  have  placed  it  second  in  the  list.  The  cause  of  this  sudden  decrease 
in  one  plat  and  not  in  the  other  can  only  be  attributed  to  some  cause  local  and 
not  inherent  in  the  soil  or  in  the  fertilizer.  In  general  average  for  the  four 
years  the  compost  shows  a product  of  only  1,218  pounds  of  seed  cotton — a 
yield  only  above  that  of  four  other  varieties. 

8.  C.  Compost  No.  5 comes  next,  or  seventh,  for  1886  in  its  productiveness, 
although  in  each  of  the  previous  years  it  stood  nearly  at  the  top.  It  differs 
from  the  S.  O.  Compost  No.  7,  just  mentioned,  only  in  having  a much  less 
amount  of  cotton  seed  in  its  composition — an  ingredient,  however,  which 
evidently  has  been  very  beneficial  to  the  soils  in  this  drouthy  season.  Here, 
too,  as  in  No.  7,  we  find  one  of  its  plats  suddenly  dropping  down  to  a very 
low  yield,  due  also  to  some  local  cause,  for  the  plat  had  in  previous  years 
given  yields  among  the  very  highest.  This  difference  in  the  two  years  amounts 
to  34  per  cent.  In  general  average  there  are  but  two  fertilizers  above  it. 

8.  C.  Compost  No.  6 , made  up  of  acid  phosphate,  kainit  and  cotton  seed, 
made  a yield  in  1886  that  was  20  per  cent,  below  that  of  the  previous  year. 
There  has  been  a heavy  falling  off  in  each  of  its  plats,  and  hence  this  cannot 
be  attributed  to  any  local  cause.  Its  position,  however,  in  this  group  is  about 
the  same  as  in  previous  years  and  in  the  general  average  for  the  four  years. 

The  Georgia  and  Alabama  Compost  has  in  the  drouthy  year  of  1886  pro- 
duced about  13  per  cent,  less  cotton  than  in  the  previous  year,  the  yield  being 
but  881  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre.  This  is,  however,  a far  less  per- 
centage than  in  any  other  manure.  The  compost  is  largely  formed  of  cotton 
seed  and  barnyard  manure.  In  general  average  its  yield  ranks  very  low. 

The  North  Carolina  Compost , composed  chiefly  of  acid  phosphate  and  cotton 
seed,  ranks  among  the  lowest  in  productiveness — a position  it  has  held  during 
the  four  years’ tests.  In  1883  there  were  three  manures  below  it;  in  1884 
there  were  four  ; in  1885  there  were  six ; while  in  1886  there  were  but  three 
wThose  average  was  less.  The  difference  between  the  yield  from  it  in  1885  and 
in  1886  was  33  per  cent. 


31 


The  cotton  fertilized  with  Furman's  Compost , largely  composed  of  cotton 
seed  and  stable  manure,  has  suffered  more  than  that  of  any  other  manure, 
the  difference  between  the  yields  of  1885  and  1886  being  38  per  cent.  Start- 
ing with  a low  productiveness  in  1883  in  comparison  with  other  manures,  it 
reached  the  sixth  place  in  1884  and  1885,  but  in  1886  failed  to  counteract  the 
effects  of  the  drought.  In  general  average  for  the  four  years  it  is  surpassed 
by  but  four  manures  of  this  table. 

The  lowest  of  the  list  of  manures,  or  that  producing  the  least  cotton,  is  the 
S.  C.  Compost  No.  8.  Composed  of  cotton  seed  and  stable  manure,  it  should 
take  high  rank,  if  judged  by  the  productiveness  of  each  of  these  ingredients 
singly ; but  throughout  the  series  of  years  it  has  produced  very  little,  so 
far  as  can  be  judged.  In  1883  it  ranked  above  seven  manures ; in  1884, 
when  some  of  these  latter  produced  yields  of  over  1,600  pounds,  or  an  increase 
of  400  pounds,  this  compost  had  but  200  pounds  more  and  stood  lowest  in  the 
list  of  home-made  manures.  In  1885  one  of  the  other  composts  fell  lower 
than  it,  but  we  now  again  find  it  at  the  bottom  of  the  list,  both  for  1886  and 
in  its  general  average.  The  difference  between  the  yields  of  1885  and  1886 
was  about  33  per  cent. 

In  order  to  determine,  if  possible,  to  what  chemical  constituents  these 
differences  in  production  are  due,  the  following  table  has  been  prepared, 
showing  approximately  the  percentage  composition  of  each  compost  and  the 
amounts  of  each  element  applied  in  pounds  per  acre.  The  composts  are 
placed  in  the  order  of  productiveness  as  shown  in  the  previous  table. 

TABLE  XVI. 

Chemical  Composition  of  Composts. 


1 

COMPOST. 

PERCENTAGE  COM 
POSITION. 

- 

AMOUNT  APPLIED  PER 
ACRE,  POUNDS. 

Yield  in 

Seed  Cot- 
ton Per 

Acre, 

Pounds. 

1886. 

Phosphoric 

ACID. 

Potash. 

Ammonia. 

Phosphoric 

ACID. 

Potash,  lbs. 

Ammonia,  lbs. 

Total. 

Available. 

Total  lbs. 

Available, 
lbs.  ! 

Barnyard  Manure,  20  tons  — 

0.30 

0.65 

0.73 

120 

260 

292 

1,247 

Barnyard  Manure,  10  tons  — 

0.30 

0.G5 

0.73 

GO 

130 

146 

1,101 

Barnyard  Manure  and  Ash 

Element 

0.52 

0.06 

0.69 

0.72 

105 

124 

140 

146 

1,029 

South  Carolina  Compost,  4 — 

5.28 

4.10 

3.35 

1.15 

85 

66 

54 

1 18 

1,015 

South  Carolina  Compost,  7 — 

9.94 

1.44 

12.93 

1.57 

159 

23 

47 

25 

971 

South  Carolina  Compost,  5 — 

9.83 

11.44 

2.83 

1.15 

157 

23 

45 

184 

953 

South  Carolina  Compost,  6 — 

5.39 

14.10 

3.45 

1.57 

86 

66 

55 

25 

913 

Georgia  and  Alabama  Compost 

3.77 

2.73 

1.06 

1.58 

60 

44 

17 

25 

881 

North  Carolina  Compost 

5.63 

4.38 

2.41 

1.19 

89 

70 

39 

19 

878 

Furman’s  Compost 

2.66 

[1.88 

2.18 

1.57 

43 

30 

35 

25 

862 

South  Carolina  Compost,  8 — 

0.65 

.... 

0.95  2.11 ' 

21 

30 

68 

821 

The  percentage  composition  of  each  of  these  composts,  as  given  in  the 
above,  serves  chiefly  as  a basis  from  which  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  the 
respective  elements,  Phosphoric  Acid,  Potash  and  Ammonia,  that  have  been 


32 


added  to  the  soils  by  means  of  the  fertilizers,  and  hence  from  the  last  half  of 
the  table  must  conclusions  be  drawn. 

The  application  of  Phosphoric  Acid  was  largest  in  South  Carolina  Compost 
Nos.  7 and  5,  amounting  to  159  and  157  pounds  per  acre,  respectively,  and 
least  in  No.  8,  which  gave  but  21  pounds  per  acre.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in 
this  column  there  is  not  that  regular  gradation  from  highest  to  lowest  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  order  of  productiveness,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  10 
tons  of  barnyard  manure,  with  but  60  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid,  yields  148 
pounds  more  of  seed  cotton  per  acre  than  the  S.  C.  Compost  No.  5,  with  157 
pounds  of  the  acid,  and  that  the  Georgia  and  Alabama  Compost,  with  also  60 
pounds  of  phosphoric  acid,  yields  72  pounds  less  than  Compost  No.  5,  with  its 
157  pounds  of  acid.  The  conclusions  expressed  in  Report  of  last  year  in 
regard  to  the  effect  of  phosphoric  acid  upon  the  sandy  uplands  of  our  farm 
thus  are  again  verified  by  the  results. 

The  application  of  potash  has  a different  result,  and  we  find  in  the  column 
of  amounts  applied,  a descending  scale  parallel  with  that  of  the  yields  per 
acre,  and  which,  while  not  absolutely  consecutive,  is  so  nearly  so  as  to  deserve 
attention.  We  thus  find  that  the  highest  application  of  260  pounds  in  the  20 
tons  of  barnyard  manure  is  followed  by  the  highest  yield  in  seed  cotton  ; that 
the  two  next  highest  applications  of  about  one-half  of  the  first  gave  products 
that  rank  next  in  amounts,  though  from  146  to  218  pounds  less,  respectively. 

The  four  composts  following  these  vary  comparatively  little  in  their  far 
smaller  amounts  of  potash,  and  the  difference  of  103  pounds  in  their  two 
extremes  in  yields  may  in  a measure  be  attributed  to  the  large  amounts  of 
the  other  elements. 

The  results  of  the  application  of  ammonia  are  not  so  clear,  for  though  in 
the  twenty  tons  of  barnyard  manure  we  find  both  the  greatest  amount  applied 
and  the  greatest  result,  yet  we  find  an  almost  equally  large  amount  of  ammonia, 
in  S.  C.  Compost  No.  5,  which  fell  short  nearly  300  pounds  in  seed  cotton 
yield. 

To  summarize : We  find  that  the  three  heavy  applications  of  barnyard 
manure,  with  their  large  amounts  of  potash  and  ammonia,  and  especially  of 
decaying  vegetable  matter,  have  produced  in  1886  the  greatest  yields ; and 
that  those  fertilizers  with  far  smaller  amounts  of  these  elements,  though  with 
more  of  phosphoric  acid,  have  produced  less  results. 

Profit  or  loss  in  the  use  of  composts  in  the  following  table,  showing  the 
value  of  the  ingredients  of  the  composts  and  the  cost  of  production  of  cotton 
by  them,  is  based  on  commercial  values  and  upon  the  result  of  the  experi- 
ments on  the  College  Farm.  In  determining  the  increase  due  to  each  fertil- 
izer the  average  of  the  unfertilized  plats  is  deducted  from  the  yield,  that 
average  for  1886  being  804  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre. 


33 


TABLE  XVII. 

Profit  or  Loss  in  Use  of  Composts. 


FERTILIZER. 

Cost  of 

Application. 

Increase  Over 
Unfertilized  Soil. 

Value 

of 

Increase. 

1886. 

General 
Average 
for  4 Years. 

Seed 

Cotton. 

Seed. 

Lint. 

Profit. 

Loss. 

Profit. 

Loss. 

Barnyard  manure,  20 

tons  

$80  00 

442 

295 

147 

$14  70 

$15  30 

$19  80 

Barnyard  manure,  10 

tons  

15  00 

296 

198 

98 

9 80 

5 19 

7 30 

Barnyard  manure  and 

ash  element,  

17  90 

225 

155 

75 

6 80 

11  00 

7 95 

S.  C.  Compost  No.  4. . . 

9 74 

210 

140 

70 

6 73 

3 01 

3 94 

S.  C.  Compost  No.  7. . . 

9 62 

166 

111 

55 

5 50 

4 12 

5 12 

S.  C.  Compost  No.  5. . . 

8 54 

148 

99 

49 

4 90 

3 64 

44 

S.  C.  Compost  No.  6. . . 

10  82 

107 

71 

36 

3 59 

7 23 

5 02 

Ga.  and  Ala.  Compost. 

6 89 

76 

51 

25 

2 50 

4 39 

4 36 

N.  C.  Compost 

9 36 

73 

46 

27 

2 66 

6 70 

6 46 

Furman’s  Compost .... 

1 6 56 

57 

38 

19 

1 90 

4 66 

1 45 

S.  C.  Compost  No.  8. . . 

1 9 20 

16 

11 

5 

50 

8 70 

6 20 

The  result  is  the  same  as  in  the  last  Report — a blank  column  for  the  profits. 
The  losses  vary  greatly,  the  greatest  being  from  the  20  tons  of  barnyard 
manure,  which  gave  the  greatest  yield,  and  the  mixture  of  barnyard  manure 
and  ash  element  which  yielded  the  third  highest  product ; and  the  least  being 
from  S.  C.  Compost  Nos.  4 and  5.  In  the  previous  year  the  loss  from  the 
No.  5 was  nominal.  The  fertilizer  which  showed  the  greatest  gain  over  the 
losses  of  the  previous  year  was  the  10  ton  application  of  barnyard  manure, 
which  shows  an  improvement  of  $8.25,  though  still  on  the  side  of  loss.  The 
addition  of  400  pounds  of  ash  element  to  the  ten  tons  of  barnyard  manure, 
which  last  year  reduced  the  loss,  seems  to  have  added  by  its  cost  greatly  to 
the  losses  in  1886. 

For  the  average  of  the  entire  four  years,  the  same  heavy  losses  appear — in 
some  instances  greater  and  in  others  less  than  in  1886.  The  S.  C.  Compost 
No.  5 is  among  the  latter  class,  its  loss  being  but  44  cents  above  the  cost  of  the 
application. 

II.  Experiments  with  Commercial  Ammoniated  Fertilizers. — In  order  to 
test  the  effects  of  ammonia  upon  cotton  on  these  upland  soils,  a number  of 
commercial  fertilizers  were  selected  and  applied  upon  duplicate  plats  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  field.  Each  was  applied  at  the  rate  of  400  pounds  per  acre, 
except  that  an  additional  test  was  made  with  twice  that  amount  of  Ashley 
soluble  guano  in  1885.  Crushed  cotton  seed  wTas  also  used  in  the  proportions 
of  1,600  and  800  pounds,  respectively,  on  duplicate  plats.  Two  plats  were 
also  treated  with  200  pounds  of  nitrate  of  soda. 

Tests  with  Patapsco  Ammoniated  Guano  were  discontinued  in  1886,  as  was 
also  the  800  pound  application  of  Ashley’s  Soluble  Guano.  The  Eddystone 
was  introduced  in  1886  for  the  first  time.  The  results  of  the  former  two, 
however,  have  been  added  to  the  table,  the  averages  for  each  year  alone 
being  given. 

3 — EF 


34 


The  following  table  exhibits  the  result  on  each  plat  for  1886  ; the  average 
of  each  plat  for  the  combined  4 years  ; the  general  combined  average  of  the 
plats  treated  with  the  same  fertilizer  for  each  year,  and,  finally,  the  general 
combined  average  of  these  plats  for  all  the  years.  The  fertilizers  are  arranged 
in  the  table  in  the  order  of  their  general  yield  for  1886. 


TABLE  XVIII. 


Ammoniated  Fertilizers. 


FERTILIZER. 


I 

-12;  Crushed  cotton  seed 

GGjSame 

18  Crushed  cotton  seed 

£2  Same > 

9 Edisto  Ammoniated  Guano, 
43lSame 


17, 

50 

7 

40 

22 

55 


• 77 
10 
'44 
8 
42 
23 
,07 
8 
,42 


I Cotton  seed  meal 

Same  

Etiwan  Soluble  Guano 

Same 

Ashley’s  Corn  and  Cotton  Compound 

Same 

Nitrate  of  Soda 

Same 

Ashley  Soluble  Guano. 

Same 

Eddystone  Guano. 

Same 

Ashley  Soluble  Guano 

Same 

Patapsco  Ammoniated  Guano 

Same 


i 

Sh 

o> 

a 


o 

s 

◄ 


1,600 

1,000 

800 

800 

400 

400 

400 

400 

400 

400 

400 

400 

200 

200 

400 

400 

400 

400 

800 

800 

400 

406 


YIELD  IN  SEED  COTTON  PER  ACRE  IN  POUNDS. 


Each  Plat. 


For  Average 
for 

1886.  4 Years. 


976 

1,112 

970 

978 

956 

950 

990 

916 

918 

952 

944 

826 

974 

672 

802 

824 

954 

662 


1,170  I 
1,290 ) 


1,286  l 
1,101 1 
1,282  ) 
1,110  f 
1,282  [ 
1,254  f 
1,206  | 
1,193 
1,032 
935 


1,143 

1,047 


1,509  I 
1,486  f 


1,310  | 
1,245 j 


Average  of  Similar 
Plats 

for  Each  Year. 

Average 

for 

Four 

Years. 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

995 

1,450 

1,433 

1,044 

1,230 

974 

974 

1,255 

1,460 

1,107 

953 

1,193 

1,110 

1,530 

1,192 

953 

1,946 

1,245 

1,580 

1,312 

935 

1,268 

1,215 

1,470 

1,229 

885 

1,199 

1,149 

823 

986 

1,020 

1,340 

1,20S 

813 

1,095 

808 

808 

1,365 

1,850 

1,278 

1,497 

1,160 

1,520 

1 

1,157 

1,279 

Crushed  cotton  seed,  with  its  3.5  per  cent,  of  ammonia  and  1.0  of  phos- 
phoric acid,  produced  the  next  or  third  largest  yield  for  this  year  (1,044 
pounds).  It  was  made  by  crushing  the  seed  in  a crusher  until  the  particles 
were  quite  fine,  and  was  then  applied  at  the  rate  of  1,600  pounds  per  acre. 
In  1883  this  fertilizer  produced  very  little  effect  on  the  crop,  the  yield  being  less 
than  that  of  any  other  manure,  and  even  less  than  the  unfertilized  plats.  In 
1884,  when  all  of  the  fertilizers  produced  well,  its  effect  was  more  marked 
than  the  year  previous,  and  we  find  it  ahead  of  the  S.  C.  Compost  No.  8. 
In  1885,  when  there  was  a decrease  in  all  of  the  yields,  in  one  case  of  276 
pounds  of  seed  cotton,  that  of  the  cotton  seed  was  but  slight,  causing  it  to 
take  the  fifth  highest  place  in  the  list.  In  1886,  as  already  mentioned,  it 
ranks  next  to  the  farmyard  manure  and  mixture  of  phosphate  and  kainit, 
although  its  crop  suffered  severely,  falling  back  27  per  cent,  behind  the  yield 
of  1885.  Its  general  average  for  the  entire  four  years  is  exceeded  but  by  five 
other  fertilizers. 


35 


The  crushed  cotton  seed,  when  applied  at  the  rate  of  800  pounds  per  acre 
gave  a yield  of  70  pounds  less,  or  974  pounds  per  acre.  This  was  the  first 
application  in  this  proportion. 

The  cotton  seed  meals ' free  from  the  hulls,  oil,  etc.,  (that  is  left  with  the 
crushed  seed,)  produced  a yield  of  thirty-one  pounds  less  than  the  crushed 
seed.  Its  application  was  at  the  rate  of  only  400  pounds  per  acre,  or  half  that 
of  the  last  plats  of  crushed  seed,  so  that  there  would  naturally  be  a less  yield. 
There  is  thus  a decrease  in  yield  proportionate  to  the  amount  of  cotton  seed 
used,  the  difference  between  the  maximum  application  (1,600  lbs.)  and  its  half 
being  seventy  pounds,  and  the  difference  between  the  latter  application  (800 
lbs.)  and  its  half  (400  of  meal)  being  thirty-one  pounds. 

In  the  absence  of  trials  of  the  800  pounds  for  the  years  1883,  ’84  and  ’85, 
it  would  be  premature  to  regard  as  a fixed  rule  this  proportionate  falling  off. 
The  product  from  the  meal  was  21  per  cent,  less  in  1886  than  in  1885. 

The  Edisto  Ammoniated  Guano  gave  the  same  yield  as  did  the  400  pounds 
of  cotton  seed  meal,  though  there  is  a far  less  percentage  of  ammonia  present. 
It  produced  14  per  cent,  less  in  1886  than  in  the  year  previous.  In  general 
average  for  the  four  years  it  is  also  about  equal  to  the  400  pound  application 
of  the  cotton  seed  meal. 

The  Etiwan  Soluble  Guano , with  less  ammonia,  about  the  same  amount  of 
potash  and  1 per  cent,  more  of  phosphoric  acid,  is  nearly  equal  to  the  Edisto 
in  productive  effect,  and  in  general  average  for  four  years  exceeds  it  by  75 
pounds  of  seed  cotton.  The  yield  from  its  application  in  1886  was  about  29 
per  cent,  less  than  in  1885.  In  general  average  for  four  years  it  ranks  higher 
than  any  of  those  tried  in  1886. 

The  Ashley  Corn  and  Cotton  Compound  has  more  ammonia  and  potash 
than  any  of  the  group  and  far  less  of  phosphoric  acid.  Its  application  has 
produced  a less  yield  than  the  above  fertilizers  in  1886,  though  this  was  not 
the  case  in  other  years.  The  difference  between  results  of  1885  and  1886  was 
about  28  per  cent,  of  the  former.  In  general  average  for  the  four  years  it 
produced  1,199  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre. 

The  application  of  nitrate  of  soda  produced  the  low  yield  of  823  pounds 
per  acre,  or  about  20  pounds  above  that  of  the  natural  soil.  This  yield  was 
29  per  cent,  less  than  that  of  1885.  One  of  the  plats  yielded  higher  than  did 
any  one  of  the  compost  plats.  It  has  been  tested  but  two  years. 

The  Ashley  Soluble  Gtiano  contains  less  ammonia  and  potash  than  the  Corn 
and  Cotton  Compound  ; as  do  also  the  other  guanos  in  use  in  1886.  In 
phosphoric  acid  it  is  inferior  only  to  the  Etiwan  Soluble  Guano.  The  difference 
between  the  yield  in  cotton  from  its  application  in  1885  and  1886  was  33 
per  cent,  of  the  former.  The  test  with  800  pounds  of  this  fertilizer,  which 
in  previous  years  produced  such  good  results,  was  not  repeated  in  1886. 

The  Eddy  stone  Guano  was  tried  in  1886  for  the  first  time.  One  of  its  plats 
gave  an  extremely  low  yield  from  some  local  cause,  which  very  much  reduced 
the  average,  which,  judging  from  that  of  the  other  plat,  would  have  been 
very  fair. 

The  tests  with  the  Patapsco  Guano  were  not  repeated  in  1886. 

The  chemical  constituents  of  the  above  fertilizers,  and  the  amounts  of  each 
applied  per  acre,  are  given  in  the  following  table  : 


36 


TABLE  XIX. 

Chemical  Constituents  of  Ammoniated  Fertilizers. 


FERTILIZER. 

PERCENTAGE  COM- 
POSITION. 

AMOUNT  APPLIED 
PER  ACRE. 

Yield  in  Seed  Cotton  Per 

Acre. 

Phosphoric 

ACID. 

Potash,  lbs. 

Ammonia,  lbs. 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 

Potash,  lbs. 

Ammonia,  lbs. 

Total. 

Available. 

Total,  lbs. 

Available, 

lbs.  ! 

Crushed  Cotton  Seed,  1,600 

1.00 

1.25 

3.50 

16 

20 

56 

1,044 

Crushed  Cotton  Seed,  800 

1.00 

1.25 

3.50 

8 

10 

28 

974 

Edisto  Ammoniated  Guano 

9.60 

8.09 

2.23 

2.61 

38 

32 

9 

10 

953 

Cotton  Seed  Meal 

2.75 

1.50 

8.00 

11 

6 

32 

953 

Etiwan  Soluble  Guano 

10.59 

9.05 

2 28 

1.47 

42 

36 

9 

6 

935 

Ashley  Corn  and  Cotton  Compound 

7.81 

6.74 

2J0 

3.25 

31 

26 

12 

13 

885 

Nitrate  of  Soda.'. 

16.47- 

33 

823 

Ashley  Soluble  Guano,  400 

10.19 

9.05 

i .68 

2.60 

41 

36 

7 

10 

813 

Eddystone  Guano 

13.75 

10.75 

1.451 

2.40 

55 

43 

6 

10 

808 

From  the  percentage  composition  we  are  enabled  to  determine  the  amount 
of  each  of  the  elements  of  productiveness — phosphoric  acid,  potash  and 
ammonia — in  pounds,  applied  per  acre.  The  .table  is  arranged  in  the  order  of 
maximum  productiveness,  and  at  its  head  is  1,600  pounds  of  crushed  cotton 
seed,  which  with  the  greatest  amounts  of  potash  and  of  ammonia  gave  the 
greatest  yield  in  1886.  It  is  followed  in  productiveness  by  the  800  applica- 
tion, which  yielded  seventy  pounds  less  of  seed  cotton. 

The  other  fertilizers  all  have  less  amounts  of  potash  and  ammonia  and  give 
less  results,  these  results  being  without  any  apparent  reference  to  the  former. 
The  presence  of  the  potash  appears  to  have  had  more  effect  on  the  yield  than 
the  ammonia. 

Profit  or  Loss  in  the  Use  of  Ammoniated  Fertilizers. — The  following  table 
is  of  value  in  answering  the  question  of  profit  or  loss  in  the  use  of  ammo- 
niated fertilizers  on  the  sandy  uplands  of  the  Farm — lands  whose  productive- 
ness is  naturally  quite  large,  yielding,  as  it  did  in  1886,  an  average  of  804 
pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre,  or  an  average  of  1,083  pounds  for  the  entire 
four  years.  The  first  column  gives  the  value  per  ton  and  the  second  the  cost 
of  the  amount  applied  per  acre  of  each.  The  other  columns  give  the  increase 
of  yield  above  the  natural  yield  and  the  price  of  the  same.  The  last  four 
columns  give  the  profit  or  loss  for  1886,  and  also  for  the  four  years’  average  : 


37 


TABLE  XX. 

Profit  or  Loss  in  use  of  Ammoniated  Fertilizers. 


FERTILIZER. 


Crushed  cotton  seed,  1,600  lbs. . . 

Crushed  cotton  seed,  800  lbs 

Cotton  seed  meal,  400  lbs 

Edisto  Ammoniated  Guano 

Etiwan  Soluble  Guano 

Ashley  Corn  & Cotton  Compound 

Nitrate  of  Soda 

Ashley  Soluble  Guano,  400  lbs . . . 

Eddystone  Guano 

Ashley  Soluble  Guano,  800  lbs . . . 
Patapsco  Am.  Guano,  400  lbs  — 


Value  per  Ton. 

Cost  of  Applicatior 

Increase  Above 

Natural  Yield. 

Value  of  Increase. 

1886. 

Average 

for 

Four  Years 

Seed 

Cotton. 

Seed. 

Lint. 

Profit. 

Xfl 

3 

Profit. 

Loss. 

m oo 

flO  40 

239 

159 

79 

$7  90 

$2  50 

$5  50 

13  00 

5 20 

169 

113 

56 

5 60 

SO  40 

20  00 

4 00 

138 

92 

46 

4 60 

0 60 

0 10 

23  33 

4 66 

148 

99 

49 

4 90 

0 24 

0 96 

25  91 

5 18 

130 

87 

43 

4 30 

0 88 

$1  02 

27  21 

5 44 

80 

53 

27 

2 69 

2 75 

1 54 

7 00 

70 

18 

12 

6 

60 

0 10 

27  71 

5 54 

8 

5 

3 

29 

5 25 

5 14 

25  26 

5 45 

3 

2 

1 

10 

4 95 

25  26 

11  08 

0 38 

24  43 

4 89 

1 48 

A glance  at  the  columns  of  profit  and  loss  for  1886  will  show  that  but  three 
of  the  fertilizers  gave  any  net  profit  whatever,  and  these  less  than  one  dollar 
each.  The  three  were  800  pounds  of  crushed  cotton  seed,  400  pounds  of 
cotton  seed  meal  and  400  pounds  of  Edisto  Ammoniated  Guano. 

All  others  are  unfortunately  on  the  other  side,  the  loss  above  the  cost  of 
the  manure  applied  varying  from  $2.50  in  the  1,600  pound  application  of 
crushed  cotton  seed  to  eighty-eight  cents  per  acre  in  the  Etiwan  Soluble 
Guano.  Some  of  the  fertilizers  had  a loss  amounting  to  almost  the  entire 
cost  of  manure  applied  per  acre. 

For  the  entire  four  years  the  result  is  scarcely  better,  except  in  one  instance, 
viz. : the  Etiwan  Guano  yielded  a profit  of  about  one  dollar  per  acre,  though  in 
1886  alone  it  lost  less  than  a dollar  per  acre. 

The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  upon  such  land  as  that  of  the  College 
Farm,  the  application  of  ammoniated  fertilizers  will  be  attended  by  loss. 

III.  Experiments  with  Phosphatic  Manures. — The  tests  to  show  the  effects 
of  phosphatic  manures  upon  cotton  were  made  only  with  floats,  Ashley  acid 
phosphate  and  bone  meal,  and  their  combinations  with  each  other,  and  with 
salt.  Very  little  potash  or  ammonia  enters  into  the  composition.  Four  hun- 
dred pounds  of  each  was  applied  per  acre,  the  salt  being  additional.  Here, 
as  with  other  experiments,  the  tests  were  duplicated,  each  plat  covering  one- 
twentieth  of  an  acre  and  receiving  the  same  fertilizer  for  successive  years. 
The  results  for  each  plat  for  1886  and  their  average  for  four  years,  the  ave- 
rage for  each  year  of  plats  similarly  treated,  and  the  final  general  average  for 
four  years  for  each  fertilizer,  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 


38 


TABLE  XXI. 


FERTILIZER. 


1 

YIELD  IN  SEED  COTTON  PER  ACRE  IN  POUNDS. 

◄ 

<3 

Average  of  Similar  Plats  for 

O, 

Each  Plat. 

Q) 

Each  Year. 

|3 

fl 

O 

TTnr 

Average 

1883. 

Average 

o 

l1  Ol 
1886. 

of  all 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

for 

a 

Years. 

4 Years. 

LBS. 

1 

650 

1,128 

1,076 

1,054 

1,128 

1,065 

400 

400 

1,448 ) 
1,198  j 

1,140 

1,600 

1,485 

1,323 

650 

1,034 

1,118 

1,034 

1,036 

1,034 

1,051 

800 

1,359  j 

1 

1,095 

1,620 

1,453 

800 

954 

1,243  j 

1 

400 

400 

1,008 

950 

1,215  ( 
1,311  ( 

1,085 

1,550 

1,436 

979 

1,263 

800 

956 

1,142  | 

' 

1,005 

1,610 

1,265 

921 

1,200 

800 

886 

1,208  j 

400 

400 

882 

770 

1,352  | 
1,145  \ 

1,225 

1,630 

1,312 

826 

1,248 

400 

796 

1,153  \ 

1,145 

1,460 

1,255 

787 

1,148 

400 

778 

1,146  j 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate,  400  lbs. 

Kainit,  250  lbs. 

Floats  (Basic  Phosphate)  

Same 

Kainit,  400  lbs.  I 

Bone  Meal,  250  lbs.  j 

Bone  Meal,  400  lbs.  { 

Salt,  400  lbs.  f 

Same 

Bone  Meal 

Same 

Floats,  400  lbs.  I 

Salt,  400  lbs.  J 

Same 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate 

Same 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate,  267  lbs. 

Bone  Meal,  133  lbs. 
Same 


One  of  the  plats,  which  the  year  previous  had  been  fertilized  with  800 
pounds  of  Ashley’s  Soluble  Guano,  was  in  1886  treated  with  a mixture  of 
400  pounds  of  Ashley’s  Acid  Phosphate  and  250  pounds  of  Kainit.  The  result 
was  an  average  yield  of  1,128  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre.  It  is  very 
probable  that  the  good  condition  of  the  plat,  from  the  previous  fertilization, 
was  in  part,  at  least,  to  be  credited  with  this  result,  as  the  general  average  of 
its  yield  for  the  three  years,  1883-5,  inclusive,  was  very  high. 

Floats  is  a basic  phosphate  of  lime,  with  but  three  and  a half  per  cent,  of 
available  phosphoric  acid.  It  has  produced  high  yields  during  the  three  first 
seasons,  but  in  1886  the  product  of  its  plats  fell  off  about  28  per  cent.  The 
cause  of  the  high  yield  in  one  of  its  plats  is  found  in  a soil  especially  rich 
from  the  earth  around  a decayed  stump  which  had  been  removed. 

The  same  amount  of  floats  (400  pounds)  in  a mixture  with  400  pounds  of 
salt,  while  producing  as  well  in  seasonable  years  (1884)  as  when  alone,  fell 
far  behind  in  1886,  with  a yield  of  144  pounds  less.  The  difference  between 
the  yields  of  its  plats  in  1885  and  1886  was  344  pounds,  or  27  per  cent,  of  the 
former. 

In  contrast  to  the  apparent  effect  produced  by  mixing  salt  with  floats,  we 
notice  in  the  case  of  Bone  Meal  an  increase  in  yield  over  that  of  the  meal 
alone  throughout  the  three  years  by  the  addition  of  salt.  The  difference 
between  the  yield  with  bone  meal  alone,  and  with  admixture  with  salt,  was 
58  pounds. 


39 


Tlie  effect  of  the  salt  is,  perhaps,  best  seen  in  the  lower  percentages  of  loss, 
or  difference  in  the  yield  of  1886  and  1885,  that  being  28  per  cent.,  while  that 
from  bone  meal  alone  was  31  per  cent. 

If  400  pounds  of  Kainit  is  taken  instead  of  salt  and  a mixture,  with  250 
pounds  of  bone  meal  is  made,  the  experiment  on  Plat  67  shows  that  this 
amount  of  the  latter  will  produce  a yield  equal  to  that  of  400  pounds  of  bene 
meal  with  salt. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  mixture  of  acid  phosphate  and  bone  meal  in  the 
proportion  of  267  to  133  failed  to  produce  a yield  at  all  equal  to  the  other  mix- 
tures. In  1883  it  made  a comparatively  high  yield,  but  in  all  other  years  it 
fell  behind  to  the  extent  of  100  or  more  pounds  of  seed  cotton.  In  1886  the 
yield  was  37  per  cent,  less  than  in  the  previous  year. 

Ashley's  Acid  Phosphate  alone,  with  an  application  of  400  pounds  per  acre, 
failed,  in  1886,  to  show  the  same  great  beneficial  effect  that  marked  its  appli- 
cation in  the  previous  years,  and  especially  in  1884. 

The  severe  season  of  1886  caused  a falling  off  of  37  per  cent,  from  its 
yield  of  1885. 

The  following  table  gives  the  percentage  composition  and  amount  applied 
per  acre  in  pounds  of  each  of  the  above  fertilizers  : 


TABLE  XXII. 

Composition  of  the  Phosphatic  Fertilizers. 


FERTILIZER. 

PERCENTAGE  COM- 
POSITION. 

POUNDS  APPLIED 
PER  ACRE. 

Seed  Cotton  Product  Per 
Acre,  1886. 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 

3 

1 

o 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 

3 

t n 

3 

o 

CH 

O 

EH 

© 

3 

> 

< 

© 

3 

S3 

O 

m 

a 

OS 

o 

EH 

© 

3 

Kj 

3 

t> 

◄ 

© 

3 

S3 

O 

m 

fl 

Ashlev  Acid  Phosphate,  400 I 

Kainit,  250 f 

Floats 

8.60 

26.14 

10.80 

13.40 

21.70 

13.07 

14.17 

16.75 

6.90 

3.58 

2.00 

22.56 

6.3 

57 

104 

87 

87 

87 

104 

57 

67 

44 

14 

13 

90 

41 

1,128 

1,065 

1,036 

1,034 

979 

921 

826 

787 

Bone  Meal,  400 ; Salt,  400  

Kainit,  400;  Bone  Meal,  250 

8.8 

57 

Bone  Meal 

Floats,  400;  Salt,  400 

1.79 

11.04 

7.50 

11.28 

3.13 

9.25 

14 

44 

30 

90 

13 

37 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate,  267 I 

Bone  Meal,  133 \ 

1.4 

1.0 

5 

4 

The  Acid  Phosphate  alone  has  yielded  but  826  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per 
acre,  while  with  the  addition  of  Kainit  its  yield  is  increased  302  pounds. 
The  next  three  fertilizers  are  about  equal,  the  differences  in  their  yields  being 
comparatively  small. 

The  higher  yield  of  Bone  Meal  and  Floats  above  the  Ashley  Phosphate  is 
unaccountable,  as  the  amounts  of  Potash  and  available  Phosphoric  Acid  in 
the  latter  are  much  greater. 


40 


Profit  or  Loss  in  Use  of  Phosphates. — In  the  following  table  the  estimate  of 
profit  or  loss  is,  as  in  other  tables,  based  on  the  cost  of  the  amount  of  the 
fertilizer  applied  and  the  increase  of  the  yield  of  the  plats  over  and  above 
the  general  average  of  the  natural  or  unfertilized  soil,  which  for  1886  was 
804  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre.  This  increase  is  given  in  the  table,  and 
its  value  is  determined  at  the  commercial  valuations  of  the  seed  and  lint,  viz. : 
$10  per  ton  for  the  former  and  9 cents  per  pound  for  the  lint. 

In  addition,  the  profit  or  loss  on  the  combined  averages  for  the  four  years 
has  also  been  made  in  the  cases  where  the  test  covers  that  number  of  years  : 

TABLE  XXIII. 


Profit  or  Loss  Per  Acre  in  Use  of  Phosphatic  Fertilizers. 


Fertilizer. 

Value  Per  Ton. 

Cost  of  Appli- 
cation. 

J 

Increase  Above 
Natural  Soil. 

Value  of  In- 
crease. 

■ 

1886. 

General 

Average 

4 Years. 

Seed 

Cotton. 

Seed. 

Lint. 

1 

P4 

Loss. 

Profit. 

J 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate 

400,  Kainit  250 

$13  95 

$ 4 50 

323 

216 

107 

$10  71 

$ 6 21 

Floats  

12  80 

2 90 

260 

174 

86 

8 61 

5 71 

$5’io 

Kainit  400,  Bone  Meal 

250  

23  46 

7 56 

227 

123 

76 

7 46 

0 10 

Bone  Meal  400,  Salt  400. 

22  50 

9 00 

231 

154 

77 

7 70 

'$  1 30 

$ 9 00 

Bone  Meal 

40  00 

8 00 

174 

116 

58 

5 80 

2 20 

2 00 

Floats  400,  Salt  400. .. . 

9 75 

3 90 

151 

101 

50 

5 00 

1 10 

’ *0*66 

0 00 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate 

14  50 

5 44 

77 

52 

25 

2 50 

j 2 94 

0 06 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate 

267,  Bone  Meal  133.. 

23  30 

4 66 

0 

0 

0 

0 00 

4 66 

2 46 

It  is  pleasant  to  note  that  in  this  table  we  have  three  fertilizers  that  in  1886 
did  yield  some  profit  over  their  cost. 

The  mixture  of  acid  phosphate  and  kainit  gave  a profit  of  $6.21 ; while 
floats  alone  yielded  $5.71,  and  with  salt  $1.10  per  acre.  The  mixture  of 
kainit  and  bone  meal  yielded  a profit  of  only  ten  cents  per  acre.  The  other 
compounds  failed  to  give  a profit  on  their  cost  of  application. 

In  the  general  average  of  four  years  floats  again  stands  on  the  profit  side, 
and  Ashley’s  Acid  Phosphate  just  does  do  so.  The  latter  mixed  with  kainit 
was  tried  only  in  1886. 

Experiments  with  Other  Fertilizers. — Several  other  fertilizers  have  been 
experimented  with,  whose  results  have  not  been  placed  in  any  of  the  above 
tables.  They"  are  now  given  in  the  following  : 


41 


TABLE  XXIV. 

Experiments  with  Ash  Element,  Kainit , d-c. 


FERTILIZER. 


YIELD  IN  SEED  COTTON  PER  ACRE  IN  POUNDS. 


Average  of  Plats  Similarly 

Each  Plat. 

Treated. 

For 

Average 

Average 

for  Four 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

for  Four 

1886. 

Years. 

Years. 

1,128 

870 

1,345  l 
1,129  J 

1,260 

1,460 

1,223 

999 

1,235 

1,196 

734 

1,302  | 
1,040  j 

1,055 

1,580 

1,115 

965 

1,178 

1,002 

704 

1,295  1 

1,016  f 

1,035 

1,430 

1,306 

853 

1,156 

680 

792 

1,136  l 
1,027  \ 

1,040 

1,430 

1,121 

736 

1,081 

Ashley’s  Ash  Element 

Same 

Ashley’s  Ash  Element 

Same. 

Common  Salt 

Same 

Kainit 

Same 


LBS. 

800 

800 

400 

400 

400 

400 

400 

400 


The  eight  hundred  pound  application  of  ash  element  is  shown  to  have 
produced  the  largest  amount  of  seed  cotton  per  acre,  and  yet  only  fifty-seven 
pounds  more  than  when  half  the  quantity  was  applied.  Plainly,  therefore, 
there  is  in  this  case  no  economy  in  the  larger  application. 

Contrary  to  the  usual  belief  that  salt  is  of  no  benefit  to  soils,  the  applica- 
tion of  four  hundred  pounds  in  1886  certainly  seems  to  have  been  slightly 
beneficial,  though  the  small  gain  of  forty-nine  pounds  over  the  yield  of  the 
natural  soil  may  largely  be  due  to  some  local  cause. 

The  yield  of  the  plats  treated  with  kainit  alone  was  less  than  that  of  the 
adjoining  natural  or  unfertilized  plat. 

*The  following  table  gives  the  chemical  composition  of  these  fertilizers  and 
the  amounts  in  pounds  of  each  element  applied  per  acre  : 


TABLE  XXV. 

Composition  and  Application. 


FERTILIZER. 

PERCENTAGE  COM- 
POSITION. 

POUNDS  APPLIED 
PER  ACRE. 

Seed  Cotton  Product  Per 
Acre,  1886. 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 

.d 

03 

03 

O 

Ph 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 

Potash. 

Total. 

Available. 

Insoluble. 

Total. 

Available. 

Insoluble. 

Ashley’s  Ash  Element,  800 

11.5 

11.5 

11.5 

11.5 

2.5 

2.5 

92 

46 

92 

46 

20 

10 

999 

965 

853 

756 

Ashley’s  Ash  Element,  400 

Salt 

Kainit 

14.20 

57 

42 


The  application  of  eight  hundred  pounds  of  ash  element  gave  to  the  land 
ninety-two  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  twenty  of  potash,  the  largest 
amounts  ; and  we  find  in  consequence  the  greatest  yield  in  seed  cotton 
from  it.  The  application  of  four  hundred  pounds  of  the  same  fertilizer 
gives  to  the  land  less  of  its  ingredients  and  produces  a somewhat  less  result. 

The  salt  containing  no  phosphoric  acid  or  potash  seems  to  have  acted 
chiefly  by  its  attraction  for  moisture. 

Profit  and  Loss. — To  ascertain  whether  or  not  the  fertilizers  of  this  group 
have  yielded  any  profit  in  the  amounts  applied,  the  following  table  has  been 
prepared  as  with  previous  groups  : 

TABLE  XXVI. 


Profit  or  Loss  Per  Acre. 


FERTILIZERS. 

Value  Per  Ton. 

Cost  of  Application 
Per  Acre. 

Increase  Over 

Natural  Soil. 

Value  of  Increase. 

1886. 

General 

Average 

4 Years. 

Seed 

Cotton. 

Seed. 

Lint. 

Profit. 

Loss. 

Profit. 

Loss. 

Ashley  Ash  Element,  800 

$14  50 

$5  80 

195 

180 

65 

$6  50 

$ 70 

$ 70 

Ashley  Ash  Element,  400 

14  50 

2 90 

161 

107 

54 

5 37 

2 47 

$ 30 

Common  Salt 

5 00 

1 00 

49 

38 

16 

1 60 

60 

1 41 

Kainit 

12  80 

2 56 

$2  56 



| 2 56 

The  application  of  400  pounds  of  Ashley’s  Ash  Element  was  far  more  profit- 
able than  that  of  the  800  pounds,  indicating  that  the  latter  was  excessive  in 
the  extreme. 

As  in  a previous  case,  the  presence  of  salt  has  acted  in  some  favorable 
manner  which  in  the  severe  season  of  1886  has  given  a profit  of  $5.50  above 
the  cost  of  application.  The  salt  contains  nothing  that  may  be  regarded  as 
plant  food,.  Its  action  was  felt  favorably  through  the  series  of  years,  and  in 
the  general  average  there  is  a small  profit  over  its  cost. 

The  kainit  is  a soluble  salt  of  potash,  and  there  is  in  the  sandy  soil  of  the 
Farm  not  sufficient  of  clay  to  retain  and  fix  the  potash  for  the  use  of  the  plant. 
It  seems  more  than  probable,  therefore,  that  a large  proportion  of  the  kainit 
has  been  lost  and  we  find  no  positive  results  from  its  application.  Where 
associated  with  other  substances,  such  as  acid  phosphate,  as  in  the  previous 
table,  we  find  splendid  results  from  its  use. 


43 


SUMMARY  OF  RESULTS  WITH  FERTILIZERS. 

As  a matter  of  interest,  the  fertilizers  whose  yield  was  above  900  pounds 
are  arranged  in  the  order  of  highest  production  of  seed  cotton  per  acre  for 
1886- 


Stable  Manure,  20  tons 1,247  pounds. 

Kainit,  250  pounds,  Ashley  Acid  Phosphate,  400 1,128  “ 

Stable  Manure,  10  tons 1,101  u 

Floats  (on  a richer  soil) 1,065  “ 

Crushed  Cotton  Seed,  1,600  pounds 1,044  “ 

Bone  Meal,  400,  Salt,  400 1,036  “ 

Bone  Meal,  250,  Kainit,  400 .1,034  “ 

Stable  Manure,  10  tons,  Ash  Element,  400  pounds 1,029  “ 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  4 1,015  11 

Ashley  Ash  Element,  800  pounds 999  ‘ ‘ 

Bone  Meal 979  “ 

Crushed  Cotton  Seed,  800  pounds 974  “ 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  7 971  “ 

Ash  Element,  400  pounds 965  “ 

Edisto  Ammoniated  Guano 953  “ 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  5 953  u 

Cotton  Seed  Meal 943  “ 

Etiwan  Guano 935  “ 

Floats,  400  pounds,  Salt,  400  pounds 921  “ 

South  Carolina  Compost  No.  6 912  “ 


The  following  is  a list  of  those  fertilizers  whose  application  upon  the  sandy 
soil  of  the  Farm  yielded  some  profit  per  acre  above  the  cost.  They  are  placed 
in  the  order  of  highest  profit  for  the  crop  of  1886  : 


Floats $5  71  per  acre. 

Ashley  Acid  Phosphate  and  Kainit 6 21  “ “ 

Ash  Element,  400  pounds 2 47  “ “ 

Floats  and  Salt 1 10  “ 

Ash  Element,  800  pounds 70  11  11 

Cotton  Seed  Meal 60  u “ 


44 


EXPERIMENTS  WITH  OTHER  CROPS*. 

The  Experimental  Farm  proper  being  almost  entirely  taken  np  with  experi- 
ments on  cotton  and  fertilizers  and  with  the  necessary  corn  and  oat  crops  for 
the  farm  stock,  we  were  compelled  to  utilize  the  garden  plats  in  the  rear  of 
the  College  buildings  for  the  tests  on  forage  and  other  crops,  excepting  those 
on  wheat,  which  were  conducted  on  the  cotton  field.  The  conditions  accompa- 
nying these  tests  were  unusually  unfavorable,  the  land  having  been  overrun 
with  nut  grass  and  the  soil  being  very  sandy  and  containing  much  debris 
from  the  buildings,  such  as  pieces  of  brick,  glass,  etc.  The  ground  was 
thoroughly  broken  up  in  the  Spring,  and  an  application  of  100  pounds  of  land 
plaster  harrowed  in.  The  land  was  then  raked,  leveled  and  laid  off  in  plats 
of  ten  feet  square,  into  which  the  various  seeds  were  either  sown  or  drilled 
about  the  26th  of  April. 

The  grain  crops  were  attacked  when  ripe  by  the  English  sparrow. 

Wheat. — The  experiments  for  1886  embraced  ten  varieties  of  wheat.  They 
were  all  sown  in  the  drill  on  the  5th  of  November,  except  the  Fultz,  which  was 
not  received  in  time,  and  was  sown  on  the  1st  of  December.  The  plat  assigned 
for  the  experiment  was  the  central  part  of  the  cotton  field,  each  variety  occu- 
pying several  rows,  and  fertilized  alike  with  green  cotton  seed,  at  the  rate  of 
forty -three  bushels  per  acre.  They  were  all  cut  down  by  frosts,  and  three 
varieties — the  White  Crimean,  Indian  Imported  and  Egyptian — were  almost 
completely  killed  by  the  cold  of  last  Winter.  The  full  results,  with  amount 
of  yield  and  proportion  of  stalk,  chaff  and  wheat,  have  not  yet  been  deter- 
mined. The  following  varieties  were  planted : 

The  Extra  Early  Oakley  grew  to  the  extra  height  of  three  and  a half  feet ; 
headed  on  the  8th  of  April,  and  was  cut  on  the  17th  of  May. 

The  McGeehee  White  also  grew  to  three  and  a half  feet  in  height ; headed 
on  the  26th  of  April,  and  was  cut  on  the  24th  of  May. 

Diehl’s  Mediterranean  was  also  of  extra  height ; headed  on  the  5th  of  May, 
and  was  cut  on  the  81st  of  May. 

The  Fultz,  planted  a month  later  than  the  other  varieties,  headed  on  the 
5th  of  May,  and  was  cut  on  the  31st  of  May. 

The  Genoese  headed  on  the  8th  of  May,  and  was  cut  on  the  7th  of  June. 

Martin’s  Amber  headed  on  the  10th  of  May,  and  was  also  cut  on  the  7th  of 
June. 

The  White  Crimean  was  killed  by  cold,  only  a few  scattering  stalks  surviv- 
ing ; they  headed  on  the  14th  of  May,  and  were  cut  on  the  11th  of  June. 

The  Indian  Imported,  with  but  few  stalks  surviving  the  cold  of  last  Winter, 
headed  on  the  14th  of  May,  and  was  cut  on  June  11. 

The  Egyptian,  also  nearly  entirely  killed  by  the  Winter’s  cold,  headed  on 
the  12th  of  May,  and  wTas  cut  on  the  11th  of  June. 

The  Four-Rowed  Sheriff,  or  Russian,  headed  on  the  8th  of  May,  and  was 
cut  on  the  14th  of  June.  ‘ 


*The  results  here  given  were  in  part  included  in  the  last  Report,  though  properly  belonging  to 
this.  Those  for  the  present  year  (1887)  are  not  all  yet  complete. 


45 


White  Millo  Maize. — This  variety  of  sorghum,  which  did  so  well  in  1885, 
again  gave  a splendid  crop  in  1888  in  spite  of  drought.  It  produced  a 
very  luxuriant  and  abundant  growth,  yielding  two  heavy  crops  of  forage. 
Two  rows  which  were  left  for  the  purpose  produced  a heavy  crop  of  seed  in 
August,  which  were,  however,  destroyed  by  birds  about  the  time  of  maturity. 

Yellow  Millo  Maize. — This  variety  grows  and  branches  out  as  with  the 
white  variety,  but  is  a rich  dark  yellow,  with  larger  and  heavier  heads,  and  it  is 
claimed  that  it  produces  a much  better  flour  than  the  white.  A few  rows  of 
seed  were  planted  in  1886,  which  yielded  remarkably  well  in  spite  of  the 
drought,  but  the  seed  were  destroyed  by  the  English  sparrow.  A peculiarity 
of  this  variety  is  the  graceful  bending  downwards  of  the  stem  of  the  head. 
It  grows  ten  or  twelve  feet  high  and  yields  a heavy  crop  of  forage,  which  can 
be  cut  two  or  three  times  in  each  season. 

Italian  Rye  Grass. — This  grass  did  not  do  as  well  this  as  last  year.  It 
germinated  and  grew  very  well  for  a while,  but  was  killed  by  the  hot  sun  and 
cool,  drying  winds  of  the  Summer.  It  usually  stands  drought  well,  and  in 
this  climate  remains  green  all  Winter. 

Kentucky  Blue  Grass. — This  grows  very  slowly  from  the  seed,  and  until 
it  obtains  a firm  hold  in  the  soil  must  be  protected  by  clover  or  other  grass  # 
Some  of  the  seed  obtained  from  Kentucky  were  planted  in  the  Spring  of  1886 
upon  a number  of  small  plats  to  which  plaster  had  been  added.  The  small, 
fine  blades  soon  appeared  above  ground  and  grew  slowly  until  killed  by  the 
Summer  heat.  That  portion  of  the  grass  which  was  shaded  stood  the  Summer 
very  well. 

Meadow  Fescue. — Of  the  many  fescue  grasses  the  meadow  fescue,  or  F. 
Pratensis , was  the  only  one  experimented  with  in  1886.  This,  as  well  as  a 
number  of  the  other  varieties,  is  a valuable  pasture  grass.  It  grows  from 
two  to  three  feet  high,  has  a round,  smooth  stem,  and  its  roots  penetrate  a 
foot  or  more  in  the  ground.  It  therefore  stands  drought  well,  and  is  well 
adapted  to  this  climate.  It  is  a perennial,  and  remains  green  all  Winter, 
making  a good  pasture.  It  makes  a good  hay,  and  cattle  are  very  fond  of  it. 
It  grows  well  on  nearly  all  soils,  both  upland  and  bottom.  A small  quantity 
of  the  seed  planted  last  year  on  the  poor  soil  of  a plat  near  the  college  build- 
ings grew  luxuriantly,  remained  green  all  Winter,  and  is  now  maturing  its 
seed. 

Orchard  Grass. — A few  rows  of  this  well  known  and  valuable  grass  were 
planted  last  year  for  comparison  with  other  grasses  grown  in  the  same  field. 
The  soil  is  poor,  and  was  not  manured.  The  grass  did  not  come  up  very 
well,  but  the  bunches  branched  out  and  became  luxuriant,  growing  two  and 
a half  feet  high.  It  withstood  the  drought  of  last  Summer  and  the  cold  of 
the  Winter,  remaining  green  during  the  time,  and  not  maturing  its  seed  until 
this  June. 


46 


Texas  Blue  Grass. — Some  of  the  seed  of  this  grass  was  received  from  H. 
Post  of  Selma,  Alabama,  and  sown  in  hills  in  four  of  the  squares  that  had 
been  treated  with  land  plaster.  The  seed  germinated,  but  the  dry  winds 
caused  the  plants  to  shrivel  up  as  soon  as  the  first  leaves  appeared. 

From  the  descriptive  catalogue  of  the  grasses  of  the  United  States,  by 
Dr.  George  Yasey,  the  following  extract  from  the  letter  of  a correspond- 
ent is  taken:  “I  find  the  grass  spreading  rapidly  over  the  country, 
and  I claim  for  it  all  and  more  in  Texas  than  is  awarded  the  poa  pratensis 
in  Kentucky.  It  seems  to  be  indigenous  to  all  the  prairie  country  be- 
tween the  Trinity  River  and  the  Brazos  in  our  State.  It  blooms  here 
about  the  last  of  March,  and  ripens  its  seed  by  the  15th  of  Aripl.  Stock 
of  all  kinds,  and  even  poultry,  seem  to  prefer  it  to  wheat,  rye,  or  anything 
else  grown  in  Winter.  It  seems  to  have  all  the  characteristics  of  poa  pra- 
tensis, only  it  is  much  larger,  and  therefore  affords  more  grazing.  I have 
known  it  to  grow  ten  inches  in  ten  days  during  the  Winter.  The  coldest 
Winters  do  not  even  nip  it ; and  although  it  seems  to  die  down  during  the 
Summer,  it  springs  up  as  soon  as  the  first  rains  fall  in  September,  and  grows 
all  Winter.  It  will  be  ready  for  pasture  in  three  or  four  weeks  after  the  first 
rains  in  the  latter  part  of  August  or  first  of  September.” 

Paspalum  Dilitatum. — The  roots  of  this  grass  were  received  from  Chas. 
N.  Eley,  of  Smith  Point,  Texas.  He  describes  it  as  being  “ a perennial  ever- 
green pasture  and  forage  grass,  growing  during  the  longest  droughts  ; will 
stand  heavy  grazing.  If  closely  pastured,  it  spreads  itself  by  underground 
roots,  forming  a solid  turf  and  abundance  of  fresh  shoots.  If  protected  from 
stock,  it  grows  two  to  three  feet  high,  giving  repeated  cuttings  of  hay.  It  is 
propagated  by  sets  or  roots.  The  seed  is  unreliable  and  not  recommended. 
Each  set  or  stole  will  multiply  itself  by  suckers  or  shoots,  forming  stools  or 
tufts.  Seed  stalks  grow  five  to  seven  feet  high,  and,  falling  to  the  ground, 
scatter  the  seed,  and  each  joint  of  seed  stalk  forms  roots  through  the  sur- 
rounding grass. 

‘ ‘ In  this  manner  it  excludes  all  other  grasses — circumstances,  of  course, 
govern  the  time  required.  When  first  planted  it  should  be  protected  from 
stock,  or  they  will  pull  it  up,  if  grazing  upon  it,  before  it  becomes  rooted. 
One  set  or  root  to  every  square  yard  is  close  enough  to  plant  it.  ” 

The  roots  of  this  grass  were  set  out  in  half  of  one  of  the  plats  that  had 
been  treated  with  land  plaster.  The  Summer  was  an  exceptionally  severe 
one,  but  the  grass  grew  remarkably  well,  and  proved  very  hardy  and  well 
adapted  to  our  soil  and  climate. 

Paspalum  Platy-Caule. — The  roots  of  this  grass  were  received  from  Mr. 
Chas.  N.  Eley,  of  Smith  Point,  Texas,  who  says  of  it : “ This  grass  is  peren- 
nial, but  most  vigorous  in  the  Summer.  I have  never  seen  it  affected  by 
drought.  It  forms  a solid  turf  of  grass,  growing  five  to  seven  inches  high  ; 
will  grow  on  the  dryest  places,  and  in  the  shade  of  trees,  forming  a complete 
carpet,  excluding  all  weeds.  The  seed  is  very  light,  and  scatters  by  the  wind, 
and  the  grass  spreads  by  roots,  creeping  on  the  ground  very  fast.  The  grass 
has  fine  grazing  qualities,  especially  for  horses  and  sheep  ; of  no  value  for 
hay.” 


47 


The  roots  were  set  out  in  one  of  the  plats  that  had  been  treated  with  land 
plaster.  They  grew  remarkably  well  during  this  severe  Summer,  proving 
very  hardy  and  well  adapted  to  our  soil  and  climate. 

Herds  Grass. — Three  squares  were  sown  broadcast  in  the  seed  of  this 
grass,  which  germinated  and  grew  well  until  destroyed  by  the  hot  sun  and 
cool  drying  winds  of  the  unusually  unfavorable  Summer. 

Mr.  Howard  says  of  this  grass  : ‘ ‘ For  hay  alone  it  ranks  next  to  Timothy. 
The  soil  best  suited  to  it  is  a moist  swamp  land  ; it  will  grow  almost  in  run- 
ning water.  It  yields  a valuable  return  on  thinner  land  than  perhaps  any 
other  of  the  cultivated  grasses.  Its  chief  requisite  seems  to  be  moisture. 
The  hay  is  good  in  quality,  and  sometimes  very  large  in  quantity.  The  grass 
should  be  cut  just  as  the  seed  begins  to  ripen,  and  before  the  stalk  has  begun 
to  change  its  color.” 

Canary  Grass. — The  seed  of  a variety  of  this  grass  ( phalaris  intermedia) 
were  planted  in  three  drills  in  one  of  the  squares  treated  with  land  plaster, 
but  failed  to  germinate.  It  is  said  by  Howard  “to  be  highly  esteemed  by  the 
few  who  grow  it  for  Winter  and  Spring  grazing,  soiling  and  hay.  ” It  grows 
two  or  three  feet  high  and  in  swamps  five  feet,  with  many  leaves  four  to  ten 
inches  long,  and  somewhat  resembling  the  head  of  Timothy.  Stock  like  it 
well,  especially  as  hay. 

Kaffir  Corn. — Seed  of  this  variety  of  sorghum  were  received  from  J.  H. 
Watkins,  of  Palmetto,  Ga.  A few  rows  of  it  were  planted,  which  yielded  two 
crops  of  forage.  It  is  not  as  prolific  as  the  Millo  maize,  but  is  tender  and 
superior  to  it  as  fodder.  It  is  a most  prolific  bearer  of  seed,  which  is  said  to 
be  superior  to  all  grain  of  the  sorghum  species  for  bread.  Unfortunately  the 
seed  were  devoured  by  the  birds  and  no  test  could  be  made. 

Mr.  Watkins  says  of  it : “The  plant  is  dwarfish  and  branches  only  at  the 
top  ; stands  erect ; never  droops.  The  heads  are  from  three  to  fifteen  inches 
long,  according  to  the  soil  and  the  thickness  in  the  drill,  and  are  compact  and 
well  filled  ; the  glumes  are  short,  almost  rudimentary,  yielding  little  chaff  or 
other  debris  in  threshing  or  milling.  The  plant  is  early  and  is  the  most  ten- 
der of  all  the  sweet  sorghums  for  forage,  and  can  be  cut  from  one  to  three 
times  in  bloom  from  the  same  planting.  It  cures  quickly  and  well,  and  like 
Indian  corn  instead  of  the  sorghums.  The  flour  is  so  glutinous  that  it  kneads 
as  well  as  wheat  flour.  The  bread  has  the  taste  of  wheat  bread,  with  more 
sweetness,  but  is  darker.” 

On  the  sandy  lands  of  the  College  Farm  the  plant  grew  about  four  feet  high, 
erect  and  with  wide  foliage.  The  grains  are  whitish  and  resemble  very  closely 
the  white  Millo  maize. 

Alfalfa  or  Lucerne. — The  seed  of  this  valuable  forage  crop  were  sown 
broadcast,  about  the  26th  of  April,  over  five  of  the  squares  treated  with  land 
plaster,  and  in  spite  of  the  unprecedented  unfavorable  season,  when  drought 
and  cool  winds  prevailed,  they  germinated,  grew  and  flourished,  producing  a 
splendid  crop. 


48 


Bed  Clover. — Five  squares  were  sown  broadcast  in  the  seed  of  this  clover 
about  the  26th  of  April.  The  seed  germinated  and  grew  well  until  dried  up 
by  the  cool,  dry  Summer,  with  it^  occasional  periods  of  hot,  burning  tempera- 
ture. The  sandy  uplands  of  this  region  seem  to  be  unsuited  to  the  thriftiness 
of  this  clover,  except  where  the  clayey  subsoil  comes  very  near  the  surface. 
It  thrives  best  on  well  drained,  clayey  lands,  and  forms  an  excellent  pasture 
after  it  is  in  bloom.  For  hay  it  should  be  cut  when  the  heads  have  begun  to 
turn  brown.  Rich  lands  will  yield  from  two  to  three  tons  of  hay  per  acre. 

Sweet  Clover. — This  variety  of  clover  is  sometimes  planted  for  forage. 
The  species  melilotus  alba  Was  planted  in  the  drill  upon  one  square  of  the 
experimental  plats,  germinated  and  grew  well  during  the  entire  Summer, 
resisting  the  drought  equally  as  well’  as  alfalfa,  which  it  resembles.  It  is  well 
adapted,  in  consequence,  to  this  latitude  and  to  the  sandy  soil  of  these 
uplands. 

White  Clover. — Seed  of  this  variety  of  clover  were  sown  broadcast  upon 
five  of  the  squares,  and  germinated  and  grew  wTell  until  dried  up  by  the  pro- 
tracted cold,  dry  Summer,  with  its  occasional  hot,  burning  periods. 

Alsike,  or  Swedish  Clover. — Seed  of  this  variety  of  clover  were  received 
from  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  and  were  planted  in 
one  of  the  squares.  They  germinated,  but  being  planted  too  late  they  failed 
to  grow,  and  late  in  the  season  perished  from  the  protracted  drought  and  con- 
stant cold  winds. 

Texas  Millet. — Some  of  the  seed  of  this  grass  was  drilled  in  a. few  rows  in 
one  of  the  above  squares.  It  germinated  and  grew  luxuriantly,  proving  a 
most  valuable  forage  crop.  It  produced  an  abundance  of  seed,  which  were, 
however,  unfortunately  destroyed  by  the  English  sparrows.  The  plant  is  a 
vigorous  grower,  tender  and  very  palatable,  and  eaten  ravenously  by  stock. 
It  is  a hardy  crop  and  well  adapted  to  this  latitude  from  its  capacity  to  with- 
stand drought. 

Russian  Forage  Plants. — Seed  of  the  following  varieties  were  received 
from  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  and  planted  in  hills,  several 
rows  each,  two  and  a half  feet  apart.  They  germinated  and  grew  for  several 
weeks,  but  succumbed  to  the  unusually  severe  season,  yielding  no  results 
whatever. 

Pyretiirum  Roseum. — The  pulverized  flower  heads  of  this  plant  possess 
properties  highly  destructive  to  insect  life,  and  form  what  is  well  known  as 
Persian  insect  powder.  The  seed  were  planted  in  three  drills  upon  one  of  the 
squares,  but  failed  to  germinate. 

Ramie. — Some  of  the  seed  of  this  valuable  fibre-producing  plant  were 
obtained  in  the  Spring  of  1886  from  New  Orleans,  but  were  planted  too  late 
and  did  not  germinate  because  of  the  cool  and  dry  season  that  was  then  pre- 
vailing. Since  then  roots  have  been  obtained  and  the  plant  is  growing  finely. 
The  result  will  be  noted  in  the  next  Report. 


49 


Jute. — Seed  of  this  fibre-producing  plant  were  also  obtained  in  New 
Orleans  and  planted,  but  failed  to  germinate.  The  plant  grows  ten  or  twelve 
feet  high  and  requires  about  the  same  cultivation  as  the  ramie.  It  thrives 
best  in  an  alluvial  soil,  moist  and  sandy.  The  fibre  of  the  jute  is  not  as  fine 
as  that  of  the  ramie. 

Bene. — Some  of  the  seed  of  this  (sesantum  Orientate ) were  planted,  which 
came  up  and  grew  luxuriantly ■,  the  plant  reaching  a height  of  five  to  seven 
feet  and  proving  itself  thoroughly  adapted  to  this  soil  and  climate. 

It  is  very  valuable  for  its  medicinal  properties,  having  been  used  with 
excellent  results  in  severe  cases  of  dysentery  and  other  diseases.  A few 
leaves  put  in  a little  water  quickly  make  it  thick  and  mucilaginous,  pleasant 
to  the  taste  and  can  be  freely  used.  From  the  seeds  an  oil  is  obtained  which 
will  keep  for  many  years  without  becoming  rancid.  “ When  first  made  it  is 
quite  heating  and  is  used  as  a stimulant,  but  after  two  or  three  years  it  be- 
comes quite  mild  andis.used  as  a salad  oil.” 

Colungas  or  Original  Goober  Pea. — A few  seed  were  received  in  April 
of  this  year  from  Mr.  J.  H.  Alexander,  of  Augusta,  with  the  following  state- 
ment : 

‘ £ I got  thesp  seed  from  an  old  darkey  in  Burke  County,  who  says  they  are 
‘Colungas.’  I judge  they  are  a true  ground  pea — the  original  African 
‘ goober  pea.’  You  note  that  it  is  a pea — has  an  eye  like  a pea  and  tastes 
like  a cow  pea.  It  is  not  good  human  food — nothing  like  a peanut.” 

These  seed  were  planted,  each  in  a hill,  but  of  the  four  seed  sent  only 
three  came  up.  The  plant  grew  up  like  a bunch  pea,  about  8 or  10  inches 
high,  the  leaves  small  and  shaped  like  that  of  a common  peanut  and  of  a pale 
yellow  color.  Owing  to  the  unfavorable  season  the  plant'  yielded  not  more 
than  half  a dozenseed  to  the  hill. 

Tobacco. — Experiments  were  made  wfith  the  following  varieties  of  tobacco, 
the  seeds  of  which  were  received  from  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture.  They  were  planted  in  pots  in  the  greenhouse,  but  were  late  in 
germinating  ; the  plants  were,  therefore,  set  out  late  in  the  season,  the  time 
varying  from  the  21st  of  May  to  the  1st  of  September,  and  in  ground  that 
was  sandy.  An  extremely  unfavorable  season,  cool  and  dry,  with  occasional 
hot,  parching  winds,  prevented  the  plants  from  growing  until  a heavy  rain  in 
August  gave  the  necessary  moisture  and  caused  them  to  start  off  vigorously. 
It  thus  happened  that  those  plants  which  were  set  out  in  August  were  not 
much  behind  the  earliest  ones,  and  all  attained  a height  of  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-four  inches  in  a short  time,  when  they  were  topped,  except  a few  which 
were  allowed  to  run  to  seed.  The  plants  were  cut  just  before  the  heavy  frosts 
in  the  first  of  November,  and  are  now  being  cured.  The  growth  attained  by 
the  plants,  in  spite  of  the  unusually  severe  season,  show  conclusively  that  the 
soil  and  climate  of  at  least  this  part  of  the  State  are  well  adapted  to  the  suc- 
cessful production  of  tobacco.  The  chief  requisite  is  a knowledge  of  its  culti- 
vation, curing  and  preparation  for  market : 

Pure  Havana. — This  is  used  for  cigar  wrappers  ; its  leaves  are  thin,  and, 
in  this  instance,  were  about  twelve  inches  wide  and  nineteen  inches  long. 

4 — EF 


5 0 


Old  Sucker,  Virginia. — This  is  said  to  be  a very  desirable  variety  for  gene- 
ral cultivation.  It  produced  leaves  about  twelve  inches  wide  and  twenty- 
four  inches  long. 

Caboni. — This  variety  is  said  to  grow  to  the  height  of  fourteen  feet  in  Cuba. 
It  was  grown  in  Virginia  the  past  year,  1884,  and  the  stalks  measured  ten 
feet. 

The  leaf  is  of  good  size,  and  the  flavor  equal  to  the  best  imported  cigar. 
On  our  farm  the  plant  grew  about  twenty  inches  high,  with  leaves  measuring 
sixteen  inches  wide  and  nineteen  inches  long. 

General  Grant. — -This  is  the  earliest  in  cultivation  ; produces  immense 
foliage  of  fine  texture,  small  veined  and  very  elastic.  Eipens  as  far  North  as 
Minnesota. 

The  plants  were  set  out  late  in  the  season,  and  only  grew  to  a height  of 
fifteen  or  eighteen  inches,  but  with  leaves  measuring  fifteen  inches  wide  and 
twenty-six  long. 

Connecticut  Seed  Leaf. — This  variety  has  a broad  leaf,  thin,  strong  and 
elastic,  and  with  small  fibres.  It  grew  about  two  feet  high  and  produced 
leaves  seventeen  inches  wide  and  twenty  inches  long.  It  is  used  for  cigar 
wrappers  and  the  lower  grades  for  binders  and  fillers. 

Gooch  Broad  Leaf.— This  is  a new  variety,  resembling  yellow  Orinoco,  but 
has  a larger  leaf.  The  leaves  were  thirteen  inches  wide  and  twenty-two 
inches  long. 

Yellow  Pryor, — -This  variety  was  received  from  the  Kentucky  Department 
of  Agriculture.  It  has  a wide,  heavy  leaf  of  fine  texture ; the  largest  of 
which  were  thirteen  inches  wide  and  twenty-six  inches  long. 

Big  Orinoco. — This  variety  is  fine  for  mahogany  and  red  wrappers.  The 
plant  grew  about  two  feet  high  and  produced  leaves  measuring  thirteen  inches 
in  width  and  twenty- three  in  length. 

Fiji  Orinoco. — This  variety  grew  about  two  feet  high,  and  its  largest  leaves 
measured  eleven  inches  wide  and  twenty  inches  long. 

White  Stem  Orinoco. — This  is  one  of  the  best  yellow  varieties  cultivated  in 
the  tobacco  belt  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  It  has  good  size  and 
weight,  and  is  very  early.  On  the  College  Farm  it  grew  about  two  feet  high, 
and  its  largest  leaves  measured  fourteen  inches  in  width  and  twenty-five 
inches  in  length. 

Vuelta  Abajo. — This  variety  was  imported  from  Cuba.  It  grew  about  two 
feet  high,  and  produced  leaves  some  of  which  were  twelve  inches  wide  and 
. sixteen  long. 

Golden  Leaf. — The  plants  of  this  variety  grew  to  the  usual  height,  pro- 
ducing leaves  measuring  eleven  inches  wide  and  nineteen  inches  long. 

White  Burley. — This  variety  has  long,  narrow  leaves,  white  in  appearance 
when  growing,  and  used  for  fancy  wrappers.  It  grew  but  twelve  or  fifteen 
inches  high,  its  leaves  measuring  as  much  as  ten  inches  in  width  and  twenty 
inches  in  length. 

Szegodiner. — This  variety  was  imported  from  Hungary.  The  plants  grew 
about  two  feet  high  and  produced  leaves  measuring  twelve  inches  in  width 
and  nineteen  inches  in  length. 


EXPERIMENTAL  WORK  FOR  1887. 


The  operations  of  the  Farm  for  1887,  now  in  progress,  are  chiefly  a con- 
tinuation of  the  experimental  work  of  the  four  previous  years,  with  the 
addition  of  a large  number  of  cotton  varieties  not  heretofore  tested. 

The  following  comprise  the  various  experiments  : 

Tests  with  39  varieties  of  cotton  in'  duplicate  upon  plats  1-20  acre  each. 
Tests  with  4 of  the  most  important  varieties  upon  larger  plats. 

Tests  upon  eleven  unfertilized  plats. 

Tests  with  33  different  fertilizers,  composts,  etc.,  in  duplicate  upon  plats 
1-20  acre-  each. 

Tests  with  6 varieties  of  small  grain. 

Tests  with  4 varieties  of  corn. 

Tests  upon  corn  with  8 kinds  of  fertilizers. 

Tests  with  15  varieties  of  tobacco. 

Tests  with  many  grasses,  forage  crops,  etc. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  are  on  rented  land  on  Wheeler  Hill : 

Eleven  acres  of  oats. 

Three  acres  of  Millo  maize  and  Kaffir  corn. 

Ten  acres  of  cotton. 

On  a rented  field  near  the  river  : 

Cotton  2F  acres,  oats  2 acres,  corn  2 acres. 

The  following  varieties  of  cotton  were  planted  for  experiment : 


Allen’s  Silk. 

Jower’s  Improved. 

Cherry’s  Long  Staple. 

McCall  Improved. 

Cobweb. 

Mammoth  Cluster. 

Common. 

Maxey’s  Texas. 

Crawford’s  Peerless. 

Mexican  Bur. 

Crossland. 

Meyer’s  Texas. 

Bearing. 

Minters. 

Dickson’s  Cluster. 

New  Texas. 

Dickson’s  Improved. 

Ozier  Silk. 

Drought  Proof. 

Peerless  of  Georgia. 

Duncan’s  Mammoth. 

Peterkin. 

Eureka. 

Richardson. 

Excelsior. 

Shine’s  Early  Prolific. 

Griffin’s  Improved. 

Simpson. 

Hawkins. 

Six  Oaks. 

Hay’s  China. 

Storm  Proof  of  Texas. 

Herlong. 

Taylor. 

Jeff.  Welborne’s  Pet. 

Thomas. 

Jones’  Improved. 

Jones’  Long  Staple. 

Williamson. 

These  comprise  39  varieties  out  of  the  80  or  more  as  reported  in  the  Tenth 
Census  Reports  from  the  different  Cotton  States. 


